After the One one-shots
by Ellie Parker
Summary: Just a collection of one-shots for multiple characters (but mostly our favorite couple) taking place after the conclusion of the One
1. Chapter 1

**So I read the One and I decided that there were so many things I wanted to see between Maxon and America after the book so I should write a bunch of one-shots. these are not related at all to my other selection fanfics (As the One and Taking the One) but there may be some similarities later on with their childrens' names and whatnot. These do have an order but i'll skip ahead a bit from time to time. first though, let's get through the first few weeks after their engagement. so here's the first one! it picks up the day after their engagement!**

**All rights go to Kiera Cass. we're not worthy.**

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_"As the devil spoke we spilled out on the floor. And the pieces broke and the people wanted more." - Agnes Obel_

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The morning after my engagement, I woke up in Maxon's bed surprised to find my fiancé missing. _Fiancé._ I couldn't stop musing over the word in my head and I knew Maxon felt the same way with the way he mumbled it in turn with my name in his sleep the night before. Rolling over to my stomach, I took a pillow and tugged it over my head, trying to block out the sound of men working out in the hallway. Maxon and I had both only been able to sleep a few hours due to constant interruptions from advisers, doctors and guards updating us – but mainly him – on death counts and damages.

It seemed that just hours into our engagement people were already interrupting them like he had warned me.

I had no idea how, but Maxon must have known I was awake because I heard him say from his bathroom door, "I've been thinking…maybe for the time being, while everything gets cleaned up here and your suite gets straightened out, you could live in the house I gave you?"

I huffed and threw the pillow away from me, still not looking at him. "Trying to get rid of me already?"

The bed dipped as he sat down next to me and his hand started stroking along my spine. "I just want you to be comfortable."

"Then I am perfectly content with staying here. In fact, I can't imagine being any more comfortable than I am here," I said, finally turning over to look at him. I smiled at his appearance. He had yet to shave and do his hair but then again, he had a lot more important issues to worry about than his hair.

He sighed and shook his head at me. "We have a long day ahead of us," he warned me. "I'm sorry I can't let you sleep later but now that you are the One, responsibilities trump sleep."

"It's fine. What're we doing today?" I asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

"We have to finish with the death toll," he said quietly and I could hear the deep sadness in his voice. Then I remembered that two of the people in that death toll were his parents. I couldn't pretend to understand his emotions concerning his father's death and I knew it would be different if it was just his father but it was his mother too. He loved her dearly and she was so kind. I hoped to be half the queen Amberly was.

I looked down, knowing that there would most likely be people I knew in that count as well. "Okay," I said slowly. I reached for his hand and held it, marveling in the way my ring glittered in the morning light. "I'll be right next to you."

"Actually, etiquette says that you should walk five paces behind me at all times but I'm working to get Silvia to change that." He smiled teasingly, reaching his hand that wasn't in a sling out to stroke my cheek. My face naturally melted into his palm. "I want everyone in Illéa to know that we are equals."

I shook my head and looked away. "Maxon, you do realize I know nothing about being a princess? How am I supposed to be queen?"

"Silvia will help you. She has been working with my mother for years…" his voice trailed off. "Had been working with my mother for years," he quickly fixed. He shook his head a couple times. "Anyway, Lucy and Mary are in your suite next door to help you dress."

I frowned at only hearing two of my maids' names. Then I realized what it most likely meant. A few tears leaked out of my eyes as I nodded and patted Maxon's hand that was still on my face. Maxon moved so I could climb out of bed and go into my room. I felt his eyes watching me the whole time.

Lucy and Mary had drawn a bath in the bathroom and I could see they both had puffy eyes. The sound of the water echoing off of the still-bare walls covered the sound of my entrance. I knew I probably looked horrible; I never did my hair the day before and I spent the day in my tattered dress. When I finally had time to go to bed, Maxon just leant me one of his cotton shirts and a pair of cotton pants he had tucked away in the back of his closet from a few years prior. I smiled at the thought that they were something from before we had met; they belonged to a different Maxon. Even so, I still had to roll them up several times to avoid tripping over the hems.

When my bare feet hit the cool marble floor, I cleared my throat, drawing my maids' attention to me. They turned and immediately sank into deep curtsies, bowing their heads. Lucy looked up first and her face immediately crumbled. I sighed. "Get up," I told them sadly and then ran forward to hug them both. We all cried together and without having to ask, I knew that Anne would never be helping me again. I could only imagine how many more of their friends had been killed. I only knew a handful of the help but my maids must have known dozens more.

"She always knew you would win," Lucy cried into my shoulder.

Mary nodded in agreement. "And she would be honored to be here now. Just like we are."

I smiled and nodded, wishing there was a way to lift the mood. Then it came to me. "Do you want to see the ring?" I asked them quietly, smiling mischievously.

They both squealed and smiled, grief momentarily forgotten. I held my left hand out for them to see. I did not know how he had done it because he refused to tell me but somehow Maxon knew what size I needed for the ring.

"It's beautiful my lady…I mean Your Majesty!" Lucy said, pressing a hand over her mouth and giggling more.

Mary nodded and she seemed to only be able to stare at it. "I caught him at the jewelers' the day after Christmas; he was picking out the jewels. I think he saw me looking because he told me to keep my mouth shut. Of course, I did tell Lucy and Anne right away." She smiled deviously and looked at Lucy who blushed.

"No wonder you ladies were so sure I was going to win!" I laughed. We all then laughed together and then settled into a somber silence. I sighed and looked between the two of them and I suddenly found myself missing Anne more than I ever thought I would.

Lucy was surprisingly the first one to speak up. "Well, we must get you dressed and back to your fiancé Princess!" Lucy insisted.

I smiled at the sound of the word again and agreed. They finished drawing my bath which did wonders to soothe my sore body. Then Mary got to work on my hair, brushing out some of the knots that had formed in the chaos from the day before and sleeping in it. Lucy put some light makeup on and then retrieved a simple day dress. "This is the last dress Anne designed," she told me quietly, staring at the dress as if it was invaluable. Come to think of it, it was invaluable now.

I held the dress in front of me, admiring the beautiful lavender silk lace that complimented my ring perfectly. With a smile, I realized she did that on purpose. "Did she design this for my engagement?" I asked the girls knowingly.

Lucy nodded, beaming. "Yes, Princess. When we told her about the ring, she immediately got to work on it."

"Well then let's get it on!" I encouraged, holding it close to me.

Ten minutes later, I was walking back into Maxon's room and saw that he was expecting me. Even with his arm in a sling and slightly unkempt hair, he looked regal. I never doubted that he would always be the main presence in any room we were in. I also never doubted that he would argue with me on that until the very end of the earth.

He smiled when he saw my dress and I could see the recognition in his eyes that it matched my ring, from the tiny green thread twisting throughout the lavender lace and the exposed golden zipper on the back. With his free hand, he pulled something off of his bed behind him. "I think I have the finishing touch for that outfit," he said as he passed me the small box.

"Maxon, seriously, the presents need to stop. I told you that I can't be spoiled."

"And I told you that I will give you things you didn't even know you wanted. That being said, I know this won't replace the original one but take it was a tribute to your past while also being a gift from me, representing your future," he explained.

I smiled curiously, having no idea what could be in the jewelry box. All I knew was that by the shape of it, it had to be a necklace or bracelet. Maxon held it in his palm as I opened it, revealing a golden chain holding a golden songbird. "Maxon…" I began, not knowing what else to say. He was right; this was something I didn't even know I wanted but looking at it, I realized just how much I missed my original songbird necklace from my father.

"Do you like it?" he asked hesitantly. I could see why he was apprehensive to give it to me. He probably didn't want to reopen any healing wounds and this could no doubt do that.

I nodded, willing myself to not cry. I had cried too many times in the last forty-eight hours. "Can you put it on?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Gladly," he agreed, taking the necklace and holding it in his hand. Then he sighed. "Sorry, I don't know if I can with this…" He slightly raised that hand that was in his sling.

"Right, I'll help." I brushed my hair to the side and held one end of the chain, pulling the clasp open with my thumb nail. He took the other end and easily inserted it into the clasp. I let my hair fall back down my back. "I'm not overdressed, am I?" I asked, suddenly worried that my being done up may offend some of the people who had lost everything during the attack.

"No, you're fine." Maxon squeezed my hand and sighed again. "You ready?"

I nodded and walked toward the door. His hand was on the small of my back as I pulled the door open and passed through, watching him walk out before turning and facing the hallway again. The mess was mostly clean but now the hallway looked empty with the broken furniture and torn paintings no longer adorning the walls. I knew though that with this being the royal family's hallway, it would be the maids' top priority to clean. With a heavy heart, I realized that now the royal family consisted of Maxon and me.

"Your Majesty," an adviser I thought was Stavros approached us and bowed to Maxon. "Oh, forgive me Princess; everything happened so suddenly I am not quite yet to addressing you as so."

I waved him off but I could see Maxon looked slightly offended by the lack of formality. "What is it?" I asked before he could say anything.

Stavros cleared his throat and I could tell he was uncomfortable. "We would like your presence for the hanging of your parents' portrait."

Maxon nodded. "Of course. Just give us a few moments and we'll be down by the throne room," he told Stavros. His adviser walked away, leaving us, and he turned to me. "You don't have to come with me for this."

"Yes, I do," I told him, easily refusing. "Maxon, when I was at home in Carolina, all I wanted was to have you with me. Maybe I wasn't consciously aware of it but the first thing I thought when I stepped in this palace was, _Where's Maxon? I want him to be here._"

"Okay then," he sighed. "Hold on to me though?"

I smiled and tucked my hand into his free elbow. "Always," I promised and we both knew that the promise went so much deeper than the next several minutes.

We made our way down to the throne room slowly, taking a very strange route. I assumed it was Maxon trying to keep me away from most of the destruction but there was very little the rebels didn't touch on the first two floors of the palace. The fourth floor was untouched and the third had spots here and there but the worst damage was done on the first floor and the middle of the second. I had a feeling that no matter how hard the maids and guards worked though, the palace would never be the same.

I was surprised by Maxon's confidence as he walked straight through the door of the throne room but I could feel the tension in his arm. I rubbed my other hand over his forearm, hoping to ease some of the tension. There were a couple reporters in the corner and I suddenly realized that this was the first time we were being documented together as an engaged couple, as the future king and queen of Illéa.

I had never been in the throne room before but I saw that it was one of the most incredible rooms of the palace. The walls were blanketed in royal blue and gold paint that glittered in the light spilling through the two tall windows at the end of the room beside two golden thrones. The seats were red velvet and one of them was larger than the other. I remembered reading somewhere during my studies with Silvia that the thrones were always switched out based on the current royal family, meaning that the large throne was Maxon's and the smaller one was mine. After getting a closer look, I saw that there was indeed a crown on one and a tiara on the other. I assumed that Maxon's was still a prince throne because he hadn't yet had his coronation.

Billowing red curtains hung down around the two thrones with emblazoned gold accents. Golden sculptures of lions were crawling down the marble steps that lead up to the platform of the thrones. The room had nine portraits hanging on the walls, the tenth a portrait I could not see due to a thick black cloth hanging over the canvas. I recognized some names such as Gregory Illéa, Katherine, Damon and Spencer Illéa and Porter Schreave but some were a mystery such as Emil de Monpezat and Elizabeth Feller.

Despite not knowing the names of every person represented in this room like I assumed my fiancé did, I knew that the history in this room was rich but full of missteps. Calculating fathers, ruined marriages, unhappy marriages, lies, deceit…death. I wondered how someone so good as Maxon came from this family. Then I remembered that not everyone in those paintings was a Schreave or Illéa by blood.

Maxon and I stood in front of the canvas and he nodded his head once to the guards standing on either side, holding a black sash connected to the curtain. They pulled it simultaneously, the curtain falling to the floor with a dull swoosh. There on the canvas was a beautiful portrait of Queen Amberley and King Clarkson, obviously painted several years ago because they both looked young and happy. He lacked the cold, calculating look in his eyes and she was beaming with his arm tight around her. The name plate hanging underneath the portrait read _King Clarkson Schreave and Queen Amberley Station, 2098-2120._

I cautiously looked over to Maxon and saw his Adam's apple bobbing as he struggled to keep it together. He sighed and smiled weakly to the advisers and guards standing before him. The photographers were clicking away, not wanting to miss a single moment of this. "Thank you, all, for coming here today. There will be a proper service planned in the coming days with the date to come this Friday on the _Report_. If there are any questions from any reporters, I will select five to ten and answer them myself, live, during the same airing. Good day," he greeted and then looked to me. I could see in his eyes that he needed to get out of the room before he lost it so I slowly nodded and pulled him away from the collision of his parents' haunting past and our uncertain future.

In the hallway, Maxon pulled away from me and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his hand. "I need a moment," he said quietly.

"I'm here," I told him.

He held up a hand, his back still turned. "I know and I'm telling you that I need a moment alone."

I nodded, scared to leave him. I felt the familiar sting of his rejection and reminded myself that I had done this to him for more times than he had to me. I also reminded myself that he had spent most of his life comforting himself. It made sense for him to seek solace within himself. "Of course. I'll be upstairs if you need anything." I didn't know whether or not to bow or curtsy so I just walked away, figuring he wouldn't really notice.

At the end of the hallway I turned and saw that he was still standing there in the same position. It ached for me to not be able to reach out to him, to touch him, to comfort him myself. I wanted to be his source of comfort but I supposed that for all of the walls we had knocked down between us, his independence was not one of them. It would be a big step for him to depend upon me and I knew that it all came from the fear of losing me which was a product of my own actions and keeping him away for such a long time.

Silvia met me on the second floor. I was surprised to see her; I had not yet been told whether or not she had made it through the attack. "Princess," she curtsied and I couldn't help but smile at her. She smiled to me and looked around the hallway. "Where is your fiancé?"

"He had personal matters to attend to," I said, my voice wavering slightly. I couldn't shake the feeling of being put out by him pushing me away. "I can handle whatever you need."

She nodded. "I was hoping we could actually discuss the ceremony for his parents. As princess, you will be the one to plan it."

"Oh, of course." Somehow the concept of being Maxon's wife and Queen of Illéa hadn't quite clicked yet. I knew I was going to be queen but the idea of the work involved had not really settled in yet. Call this my rude awakening. "Um, do we have a date set yet?" I asked Silvia.

"No, ma'am, you're supposed to decide the date."

I nodded and started to continue my way upstairs until I realized I didn't know where to really go. I didn't even know where Queen Amberley's office was. Am I supposed to get that office? Or will I be getting another office? Or will I work from my suite? Questions swirled in my head as I decided to just go to Maxon's bedroom which was the only room I knew I was really welcome in at the time. "Well, how about on Saturday?"

"December thirtieth?" Silvia asked, scribbling the date down on her clipboard.

"Yes, Saturday at noon," I told her decisively. It struck me suddenly that my first act as princess was planning a funeral. That just made me miss Maxon even more.

Silvia blinked at me. "Guests?"

That stumped me. I hadn't the first clue as to who to invite to this. There had to be some kind of master list somewhere that I could just give to Silvia. "I think this is something Maxon and I should sit down and decide."

"Do you think you can do that this evening?"

I doubted it but I still said, "Yes, I'll have answers for you tomorrow morning."

Silvia scribbled more down on her clipboard and flipped to the next couple pages clipped there. "Okay, next order of business…" and thus my day really began. In the morning, Silvia put me through a whirlwind course of etiquette that I obviously had not learned yet. I had no idea that there was still so much I was missing.

I ate lunch – which consisted of a pastry and some fruit - on my way to a meeting with the cooking staff where I had to set the menu for every course Maxon and I would be having together for the next two weeks so the kitchens knew what ingredients to have. I wanted to say that I wanted to just eat strawberry tarts for that time but I couldn't survive on them alone and for a person his size, neither could Maxon. I had no idea this was a job for the queen. Then Silvia whisked me off to a meeting with the head maids where I had to set special assignments for which rooms would be in use over the course of the next week and when. I barely knew all of the rooms in the palace; how did I know which ones we would be using? Silvia did a lot of guiding for that. Next was a meeting with the grounds keepers and I wasn't much of a help with that either.

Feeling extremely defeated and discouraged, I finally was able to go up to Maxon's room around dinner time. I was surprised to find it quiet and vacant with no sign of disturbance since this morning. For once I understood how Maxon felt with his father controlling everything. I had done nothing but listen to Silvia do my job all day and I felt utterly useless because of it. I just wanted to talk to him because I knew he would make me feel better.

I wandered over to his bookshelf full of cameras and picked one up. I had only used a camera a handful of times but I knew that if I was going to marry Maxon I'd have to learn how they work. I flicked it on and the screen immediately lit up with a digital display of a picture of me with Celeste, lying side-by-side on one of the beautiful rugs in the Women's Room. I was laughing about a forgotten joke and she was looking at me. I didn't realize it until now but Celeste was not laughing along with me. She was watching me with a hopeful smile and looked more pensive than relaxed.

I realized then that I truly missed her as much as I missed Queen Amberley and my father. Our friendship was brief but it was vital. I knew then that a bond was forged between us that no one else would ever understand. I wished desperately for her presence now. With a smile, I knew that if she were in my position she would scour the palace in order to find Maxon and would be so mad at me if she knew I was waiting around for him in his bedroom fully clothed. I could only imagine her telling me that if I was waiting for him, I may as well do it unclothed. I actually laughed out loud at that.

Setting the camera back in its place, I walked outside and down the hallway. I was at the top of the steps when I realized that someone was following me. I peeked over my shoulder and saw a guard following behind me. "Yes?" I asked him.

"Special orders from King Maxon that I am supposed to keep an eye on you if you are by yourself," he answered simply, looking straight ahead and not directly at me.

I rolled my eyes. Of course he'd do that. "Do you by chance know where he is?"

"I believe he said something about going to the roof to think ma'am."

"Thank you. I'll be meeting up with him so you really don't have to follow me," I politely dismissed him and he didn't seem to argue with me. I thought that was weird until I realized that I was supposedly Maxon's equal so I could squash his orders with a bat of an eye.

I couldn't remember exactly how we got to the roof but after twenty minutes of searching, I finally found the room with the passage we took. The sun had long since set with the days being shortened this time of year. I quietly opened the door and saw that there was just one light illuminating this part of the roof. The rest was the sparkle of the city.

"Maxon?" I asked quietly, my voice cutting through the quiet winter air. It was a lot colder than I expected it to be. Goose bumps rose on my arms. "Maxon, are you out here?" I heard a clatter around the corner and stepped out, feeling exposed on the wide open roof top. I saw Maxon swaying and walking around the roof with a glass bottle in his hand. My heart leaped into my throat. "What're you doing?" I demanded.

He turned and swayed, taking me in. "Oh, lookie, you're here."

I shook my head. This was not my Maxon. Angry Maxon was back. "Maxon, please, come with me. Get some sleep," I urged. I wondered briefly if he had ever been really drunk before. He seemed a little tipsy after the ball at Halloween but he wasn't drunk. I held out my hand. "C'mon."

"I'm not a dog; I can't be beckoned," he snapped, taking another long drink from the bottle. He pulled it away from his mouth and coughed in disgust. "Empty," he mumbled. He suddenly raised his arm and through it to the ground, the glass shattering and scattering everywhere.

"I can get you more. Just come with me." There were a thousand worries flying through my head. He had lost his sling somewhere so he must have ripped open his wound because through his unbuttoned shirt I could see blood staining the bandage on his chest. We were also a little too close to the edge of the roof for comfort.

He laughed darkly. "I…am the king of Illéa! You can't tell me what to do!" he shouted, waving his arms to keep his balance.

I knew the only way to get Maxon to do what I wanted was to push back against him. "Well you're not being much of a king now. You had duties today but you just abandoned them. I really needed your help but no, you're too drunk to care!"

"Yeah, I have duties. Because my parents are dead. Why is everyone dancing around that? It's like everyone thinks that I can't handle it all but I know more than everyone else that my parents are dead."

"Your mom wouldn't have wanted this," I told him. He was making absolutely no sense.

He rolled his eyes. "Who cares what Mommy wants? She never really mattered. We both know that my father was always the one in charge!"

I heard the door open behind me but didn't dare break eye contact with Maxon. I finally had his attention. "You're not like him Maxon. You are so much more than him. You are good, you are kind, you care about the people. You don't see them as a bunch of toy soldiers. You see them as actual people."

"Because of you!" he burst out. "Don't you see? It's because of you that I'm _nice, _that I _care_…I'm weak because of you."

"No, you're not. You're strong. You took all of those lashings for me. You defied your father. You spoke up and started making changes."

He shook his head and pointed a shaking finger at me. "America Singer, you are no good for me and I am no good for you."

"You're wrong!" I yelled back at him, not able to contain it anymore. "Yes, we fight and yes, we don't always agree but we love each other. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. I'm America Singer and Maxon Schreave, a boy and girl who love each other and want to spend their lives together. Being nice isn't a weakness; it's a strength. It's harder to be nice to people because not everyone always deserves it. It's easier to turn your back on everything. That's what your father did. He's the weak one, not you."

His face grew somber at that and he kicked a rock with the front of his shoe. I noticed then that one of his shoes was missing. "I'm tired," he sighed. He bowed his head and started to rock forward. I ran forward and caught him just in time. He collapsed over me, his big arms hanging around my shoulders like noodles. "Don't leave me Ames," he pleaded in my ear and I could feel tears on my neck.

"I won't," I promised. "I told you I wouldn't. I'm here. I'm right here." I stroked the back of his neck and played with the hair there. He started to list to the side and I was scared I couldn't hold on to him. He was so much bigger than me.

Suddenly Carter was there, putting an arm around Maxon's shoulders and catching him for me. "C'mon Your Majesty, let's get you to bed," he mumbled, looking at me apologetically. I put an arm around Maxon's waist and we slowly made our way to the door with Carter supporting most of Maxon's weight.

Marlee was at the door, holding it open for us and she went ahead to open all of the doors. As we made our way downstairs to his bedroom Marlee explained, "We were coming up to ask if you guys wanted dinner and a guard mentioned that you went looking for him up on the roof."

"Thanks for coming," I told her. I could feel blood starting to soak through the sleeve of my dress from where Maxon's chest was pressed into my shoulder. "Can you send for Dr. Ashlar?"

She nodded and ran off in the other direction. When we finally made it to Maxon's room, Carter dumped him on his bed and I got to work with getting his shirts off. "Thank you for your help," I told Carter quietly.

"Of course, America," he said quietly, standing behind me. "Maxon had helped Marlee and I more than we deserve after what we did. Now tell me, is there anything I can do?"

"Go down to the kitchens, get him something to eat. Something greasy or with bread, maybe?" I suggested. Then it came to me. "A burger?"

He nodded. "Of course. Delilah made some up this afternoon with some extra meat." He walked out and the guards posted outside didn't seem to question his presence. They must have known he was around with as much interaction there was between the palace help and the guards.

I propped Maxon up against his pillows with some difficulty. "Maxon, I need your help here," I grumbled, trying to pull his shirt off. He begrudgingly slid off one of his sleeves and hissed in pain when he went to remove the other. "Here, I'll cut it off for you," I told him. I went into his bathroom and stopped, this having been my first time in his bathroom I had no idea where anything was.

I searched through the drawers and found a pair of tailoring scissors that would have to do. Starting at the cuff of his sleeves, I sliced it up the middle, watching where it was snuck around his biceps and shoulders. I picked the cufflinks off of his sleeves and set them on the bedside table.

By then Marlee was running back in with Dr. Ashlar on her heels. "Will he need any anesthesia?" he asked, sitting next to me.

I shook my head. "He's been drinking; he doesn't need any more drugs in him."

Dr. Ashlar got to work, peeling the soiled bandage off Maxon's chest, revealing the spot where he had been shot two days before. My stomach turned at the sight of it because I wasn't expecting the wound to be so gruesome. Maxon hissed again when Dr. Ashlar started poking around the wound. I crawled over to the other side of Maxon and held his free hand, circling my other arm around his shoulders and holding his head against my shoulder. "You're okay," I promised, kissing his head.

Carter came back, winded but holding a brown paper bag that contained what I assumed was the burger. "My father always said a burger is the best cure for a hangover. How'd you know?" he asked, setting the bag on the bedside table next to Maxon's cufflinks.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I heard it somewhere." Maxon then groaned and turned his face into my chest. "Shh, you're okay." I stroked his hair, putting my face in it.

"No, none of this is okay," he refused, his voice muffled. "I don't deserve you."

"Just stop talking," I told him quietly.

Dr. Ashlar leaned back from Maxon and nodded to me. "That's the best I can do. He'll have to wear his sling for an extra few days now but he didn't tear any of the muscle in the area like I was worried he had so he'll be okay. He has so much muscle there that the bullet never really penetrated any of his organs so he should heal rather quickly."

I nodded and glanced down at Maxon who still had his face pressed into my dress. "Thank you Doctor," I said genuinely. Dr. Ashlar then left us and it was just me and Marlee. I didn't notice Carter's departure.

"I never got to congratulate you," Marlee said quietly, sitting down next to me.

With a smile, I looked down at Maxon again. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. "I never even knew if you had made it."

"Carter was a guard, remember? When he saw what was happening, he locked me and Paige in our room and went off to fight. I was so scared. I can only imagine how you were feeling."

"I tried to break out of the safe room."

Marlee laughed out loud. "Of course you did." She rolled her eyes and sighed. "There are still some of the Selected around. I think Celeste is the only one of them who didn't make it."

"Kriss?" I asked tentatively.

"She left early this morning. Like, _early_ this morning. I guess she didn't want to bump into you two."

I shook my head. "I didn't want her to get hurt."

"Maxon can only marry one person America. She knew going into the Selection that she had a one-in-thirty-five chance of not getting hurt," Marlee reminded me. "Besides, I have a feeling that if Maxon had proposed to her, she would've said no; she didn't want to be a bridesmaid, figuratively speaking. She's a sweet girl though. I'm sure it'll take no time for her to find a replacement."

Maxon snored softly into my shoulder. "Do you mind?" I asked, looking between her and the door.

She smiled and patted Maxon's leg. "Not at all. Everything will work out America," she assured me, standing up and leaving.

I sighed and gently removed Maxon from my shoulder and then took off his shoes and socks for him. There was no way I'd be able to get his pants off without any help so I just removed his belt, figuring that would make him comfortable enough.

I fell asleep next to him and woke up the next morning in the empty bed. The bathroom door was cracked open and I heard someone getting sick inside. I quietly went to the door and knocked. "Maxon? Maxon, can I come in?"

"No!" he coughed out. "Stay away!"

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. "Maxon, I'm coming in," I warned, poking my head in. He was kneeling on the floor with his face close to the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach. He retched again as I came in and I walked toward him, rubbing his back as he got sick.

He finally conceded in letting me help him because he eventually sat back and asked, "Can I have a glass of water?"

I went to the sink and poured him a glass, handing it to him. "Small sips," I told him.

He obliged and then sat back against the wall. "Words can't describe how sorry I am."

"Then don't worry about explaining it to me." I patted one of his knees and sat cross-legged in front of him. "Just feel better, okay?"

He nodded and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

**sorry I had to end it awkwardly because it was getting to be just too long! they'll all be pretty long but not always like this. anyway, I hope you guys liked it! **

**P.S. I'll probably be updating Taking the One sometime in the next 24 hours :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the responses from the last chapter! they were all wonderful. some of you said that you didn't really like Maxon getting drunk but I saw his relationship with his father similar to that of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl and his dad so I took some inspiration from that. (Okay, a lot of inspiration.) so about this chapter...this is not at all what I had planned for it. in fact, I had a different chapter half-done when I started this one but I got so hooked with writing this I ended up finishing it within an hour (which explains any typos this might have). **

**This chapter is written in Maxon's point of view and I think you'll figure out what is going on soon enough.**

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_"Maybe I'm scared because you mean more to me than any other person. You are everything I think about, everything I need, everything I want."_

* * *

I woke up to a blinding light above me. The first thing that ran through my mind was _Am I dead_? I sure hoped I was dead because I wanted the pain in my chest to end. At that point I couldn't tell if it was physical or emotional; the pain from a bullet wound or the pain of heartbreak. They surely seemed like two different injuries but they felt the same to me in that moment. Surely I was bleeding out from the hole in my heart that America used to fill.

I wanted to hold her hand. I wanted to smell her perfume. I wanted her, all of her. Just when I thought I could not feel any more devastated, I realized that I didn't even know if she was alive. The last memory I have before passing out was of her being pulled away by Officer Leger…Aspen. He loved her; he had to have kept her safe, right? What if a rebel found them before they even…I stopped the thought before it could send me into a panic. Her rejection sliced open my heart but it was nothing compared to even thinking about the possibility of her being dead.

I blinked several times until my eyes adjusted to the light. Voices started reaching me as my body started to awaken again. I closed my eyes as chaos started to settle around me.

"He's responding!" someone shouted.

"Quick, stitch up the wound!" another person demanded.

"Don't worry Your Majesty, you're safe," a female voice said from close to my head. I ached for it to be America but in the haze of drugs and pain I could not remember her voice. She wouldn't call me by a title though, would she? If she was still wary of me, maybe. After what I had said to her before the attack I wouldn't blame her for being scared of me. I was scared of me.

I started pinpointing voices though, one of them being Dr. Ashlar. "Do we have an update on the girl?" he asked someone. I heard something snipping like it was being cut by scissors.

"No, Doctor, we've only gotten to some of the safe rooms. August and Gavril just left to start sweeping the other side of the palace," someone reported. I didn't recognize that voice.

"Have you checked the bodies yet?" Dr. Ashlar asked calmly as if he was asking about the weather. I watched my world get turned upside down before passing out but those last few moments of consciousness were focused on getting America to safety that everything else seemed unimportant.

Something crashed nearby and someone yelled, "We have guards who need help now!"

A different person started reading off names. "Officer Dutill, Officer Brown, Officer Blanks, Officer Sheller, and Officer Leger. All with serious injuries, non-life-threatening as far as we know but they need immediate attention."

Leger…Aspen Leger. America's lover. He was hurt but alive. What did that mean for her? What time was it? I opened my eyes to raise my left arm to check my watch but was met with blinding pain when I barely moved my arm. I must have cried out because someone started soothing me. A cold compress was pressed against my forehead but I just wanted to know if America was alive or not and I was ready to rip the compress away from me in order to get out of there.

"Send Dr. Freud and Dr. Macky to them!" Dr. Ashlar instructed. His voice was a bit more panicked and I could tell he was standing over me, his face actually kind of close. He must have been studying the fire in my chest intently. I couldn't remember him ever sounding anything but calm.

There was another crash close by. I realized that it must have been the doors slamming open and closed. "Doctor, we need to clear the OR as soon as possible. We may have to amputate Leger's leg," a woman reported in a strained and urgent voice. For some reason I shuddered at the news. This was bad. This was all so bad. I had to be taking care of my people, not lying in an operating room helpless.

"I'm working as fast as I can Candice!" Dr. Ashlar yelled. "He wasn't even alive until a couple minutes ago!" So I was dead. How long? If people were starting to arrive here that meant the attack had to be over. Then I realized that I was still in the company of my staff. That had to mean that the Southerners were put to rest, right? But how? My men were vastly outnumbered and unprepared. But what did that person say before? August was here, he was checking safe rooms. I had to know what had happened.

"King Maxon," Dr. Ashlar suddenly said in a serious voice. "I'm giving you a small dose of pain medicine and sedative. We're moving you up to your room. I'm sorry but we don't know where America is."

The last thing I remember before falling asleep is not the news about America but what he had called me. There was no way I heard him correctly. My parents…I was Prince Maxon. King?

* * *

I woke up and found the room quiet, the silence deafening compared to that of the hospital. My eyes took in the familiar dark wood of my bed above me. I tried to move my left arm but found that it was only tingly and otherwise unresponsive. The other arm seemed unharmed though. The fire in my chest had been dulled to a slow simmer. I looked around and saw one of our senior advisers sitting at my desk. He noticed that I was awake and came over to me.

"Your Majesty, what do you need?" he asked, concern written all over his face.

"Water," I croaked out. He immediately went to my bathroom and I heard the faucet turn on.

He returned and gave me the glass of water. "Sir, Dr. Ashlar would like to see you as soon as possible." I nodded and started to move to the edge of the bed slowly and painfully. Stavros's eyes widened. "Your Majesty, what are you doing?" he demanded.

"Going to see Dr. Ashlar," I told him plain as day. "And you cannot do anything to stop me." I felt like if I stayed in that bed one more minute I would explode.

I slowly made my way to the open door and leaned on it as my vision cleared again, the pain threatening to send me back into unconsciousness. Why didn't they give me more pain medicine? I stepped out into the middle of the hallway and saw the destruction laid out before me. Glass littered the floor, making it look like it was made out of diamonds. Curtains hung over the windows, some torn and others in a heap on the floor. There seemed to be hundreds of people in this hallway that normally only saw three people a day. Maids were hard at work, sweeping up the glass and guards were standing in clusters. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they noticed me, dipping into deep bows. They were whispering something but I couldn't quite make it out.

Gavril was approaching me, his face ashen. My heart seized. This was it…he was about to tell me that America didn't make it. She was gone forever. Despite my best efforts, I wasn't able to save her. Then he put a hand on my shoulder. "Your Majesty, I am so sorry I am the one that has to deliver this news to you," he began. "But, it seems your parents did not survive the attack."

A guard standing beside him started recounting what happened but I was only half-listening. Grief settled on my shoulders like concrete. "What?" I choked out, cutting off the guard. Then I realized what everyone was whispering. It seemed to swell together into a chorus until it almost overwhelmed me.

"…the king."

"Long…king."

"Long live…"

"Long live the king."

The reality of what my life had become within hours pressed in on me. I went from being engaged to single, from prince to king, from euphoric to dismal. There was no grand spectacle about it. There were no fireworks, no cherubs singing from the rafters of a cathedral, not even a crown…just like that, standing in the hallway in my pajamas with one arm bound in a sling, barely able to stand on my feet, not having any idea of whether the love of my life was alive or not, I became king.

My eyes burned and I realized I was about to cry. How wonderful it would be for me to cry in the first few seconds of my reign. I quickly reigned in my emotions and nodded slowly, trying to put feeling in my neck and shoulders again. In my entire body really. Where was America? I had the aching feeling that she was supposed to be there next to me. "Well, I have a lot to get done then," I announced, turning and heading back to my room.

The sun was just rising, finally giving away the time. My world was crashing down but the sun still knew to rise. How? Did it not know the devastation occurring within this palace's walls? I settled myself back in bed and other advisers started coming in with paperwork and questions that I was supposed to know the answers to but my father had never disclosed the information I needed in order to answer them.

A couple times I actually asked someone to go ask him but with a heavy heart I realized that I didn't have that option. My father wasn't in his study downstairs. My mother wasn't in the other room. I was alone. Utterly alone. There was that but there was also the fact that America's life was in the balance and I didn't know where it was in the balance.

"Your Majesty," Stavros eventually said. "There is one matter that must be settled sooner rather than later."

I lifted my head to meet his gaze and realized that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing in anticipation for Stavros's question. "Yes?" I asked, hating the way my voice shook.

He cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. "You need a wife…a queen."

This was the question I feared most. How was I supposed to answer if I didn't even know if America was alive? I knew what I had to do. "If Lady America is able, I wish for her to be sent here as soon as possible. If not, I will be marrying Elise Whisks."

Everyone in the room drew in a collective gasp at this change in events. I had eliminated Elise along with Celeste but I could use her for some sort of alliance with New Asia. Ending that war was completely up to me now and because I didn't know how to organize fighters I could only think to form some sort of treaty. No one answered me; they all just slowly went back to work.

The sun started to shine on my floor through my balcony doors as Stavros leaned closer to me with a paper I had to sign. They all were starting to blur together but I realized this one was signing off on some sort of agreement with Twos and their taxes. My hand froze, hovering above the page, remembering the stack of papers sitting in my bedside table.

For the third time that morning, everyone suddenly went quiet and bowed and I realized I had a visitor.

"Thank you," I heard someone say from outside the door. It was her. I knew it right away.

And then there, standing in the doorway, was America. Her dress was hanging in pieces and her hair looked limp and knotted. Bandages covered her arms, almost matching my left arm. Her eyes were puffy and swollen and I knew she had been crying. She had been crying a lot because her make-up was smudged on her cheeks. She was never more beautiful than she was in that moment.

When her eyes rested on me they were relieved and then replaced by a foreign emotion, one I had not seen in her before. I realized it was caution. I smiled at the thought of her for once showing a little fear. She sank down into a low curtsy though I didn't miss the small wobble in her ankles. "Your Majesty," she sighed. I had never seen anything more breathtaking than her. The sight of her seemed to lift all of the weight on my shoulders.

"Set the papers here, Stavros. Would everyone please leave the room? I need to speak with the lady," I told them all. It was the first time I was really exercising my power and I could not think of a better reason for it.

Everyone bowed and left, Stavros being the last one after placing the paper on the bedside table. I caught him smiling as he left, no doubt suspecting what I was about to do. Then I looked at her again. God, every time I laid eyes on her I felt like I was seeing her for the first time. Why wasn't she coming to me though? She held her ground ten feet from me but it felt like ten miles.

"I'm so sorry about your parents," she said quietly and I knew she was.

"It doesn't seem real yet," I admitted. I motioned for her to sit on the bed in front of me because I wanted her close. I was so tired of being separated from her and if I had my way, that wouldn't be a problem anymore. "I keep thinking that Father is in his study and Mom's downstairs, and any minute one of them will come in here with something for me to do."

She sighed. She was still avoiding eye contact. "I know exactly what you mean."

I smiled at her, realizing that she did indeed know what I meant. "I know you do." I had to hold her hand and my arm seemed to move of its own accord. She put her hand in mine and relaxed slightly. "She tried to save him. A guard told me a rebel had my father in his sights, but she ran behind him. She went down first, but they got Father immediately after." It didn't hurt any less to say it out loud and quite frankly I didn't know why I was telling her but I had to tell someone. I had to get it out. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "She was always selfless. To her very last breath."

A corner of America's mouth turned up. "You shouldn't be so surprised. You're a lot like her."

I frowned, not seeing that at all. "I'll never be quite as good as her. I'm going to miss her so much." And I already did. I missed both of my parents but there was just something about my mother that made me gravitate toward her. Probably the same thing that made my father pick her. I felt America's thumb rub across the back of my hand and I could see the grief in her own eyes. Mother had always been partial to America and made it no secret to me that she hoped I would choose her. I tried to look on the bright side though because my grief was diluted by the immense relief I felt in America still being alive. "At least you're safe. At least there's that."

I didn't know what else to say after that and I could tell that she was dying to ask me something but she held back for some reason. That was so unlike her. I had to show her somehow that I still loved her. I was scared that every second that went by without me saying something to her she would distance herself even more. The things I had said to her were unforgivable but I didn't know where to begin apologizing. Then I caught a glance at the paper sitting next to me.

An idea popped into my head and I knew that it was now or never. I had to propose to her now. Everything was so wrong in my world but I suddenly couldn't imagine it happening anywhere else. "There's something I want to show you," I told her, catching her by surprise by my sudden enthusiasm. "Mind you, it's a bit rough, but I think you'll still like it. Open the drawer here. It should be on the top." I pointed to my bedside table and she did as I said.

I held my breath as she pulled out the documents. She looked confused but I nodded to her to read. I could see the questions lingering in her eyes as she continued to read, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as she concentrated. Then disbelief covered her features. "Are you…you're going to dissolve the castes?" She finally looked up to me and I could see the bewilderment.

I smiled. "That's the plan." I could see excitement building in her and I knew I had to warn her. "I don't want you to get too excited. This will take a long time to do, but I think it will work. You see," I leaned forward to flip to the page I knew the plan was on, "I want to start from the bottom. I'm planning on eliminating the Eight label first. There's a lot of construction we need to do; and I feel like, with a little bit of work, the Eights could be absorbed into the Sevens. After that, it gets tricky. There's got to be a way to get rid of the stigmas that come along with the numbers, but that's my goal." And it was. It was a rough outline of the plan but it was at least a start. With her help there was no doubt in my mind that we could accomplish this.

She still looked shocked and kept reading the words on the paper like they were the most precious thing she had ever held in her hands. Come to think of it, for her, it probably was. I touched her hand again. "I want you to know that this is all your doing. Since the day you called me into the hallway and told me about being hungry, I've been working on this. It was one of the reasons I got so upset after you did your presentation; I had a quieter way of reaching the exact same goal. But of all the things I wanted to do for my country, this would have never crossed my mind if I hadn't known you."

I could still remember my shock from hearing her testimony that day and the devious thrill that ran through me when I found this as a solution. Then the heartbreak when I heard her presentation and realized that we had the same idea. Of course, because of our wildly different temperaments, her plan was not like mine.

She was taking short, excited breaths as she kept reading. I leaned forward and reached under the pillow, my fingers finding the small box that had been underneath. She was so focused she had no idea what I was doing right in front of her. I opened it and stared at the ring, knowing that it was a symbol of my love for her and that soon it was going to show the world that she was mine. "There's something else," I told her hesitantly, my hand shaking as I pushed the ring over the papers.

"I've been sleeping with that darn thing under my pillow," I chuckled, the words coming out before I could stop them. She looked up at me with even more questions in her eyes than before and all I could think of saying was, "Do you like it?"

She looked away from me and back down to the ring. She stared at it, not blinking as if she was scared it would disappear right before her eyes if she did. She opened her mouth to speak, several times actually, but she was so overcome with emotion that she just nodded, covering up her tears that I could see were gathering in her beautiful eyes.

I cleared my throat because my own eyes were starting to burn. "Twice now I've tried to do this on a grand scale and failed spectacularly. As it is, I can't even get on one knee. I hope you won't mind if I just speak to you plainly."

She simply nodded. I shrugged my right shoulder, ignoring the pain that still bit into my chest every time I moved. "I love you," I said, that being the best thing I could think of to start with. I forgot my speech just like I thought I would but by the look on her face, I knew I had her. I knew she was ready to commit. "I should have told you a long time ago. Maybe we could have avoided so many mistakes if I had. Then again," I added, seeing the mischief mixing with the tears sparkling in her eyes, "sometimes I think it was all those obstacles that made me love you so deeply."

Her tears were about to spill over and I thought back to those obstacles. My infuriation at her attacking me in the garden that led to my awe at her audacity. Her pulling away, time and time again. My father questioning her constantly and every time I got a little more defensive until I couldn't bear for him to say one more thing about her. My life shifted from being dedicated to my parents to being dedicated to her.

"What I said was true," I resumed, recalling my last words to her before Leger took her away during the attack. "My heart is yours to break. As you already know, I'd rather die than see you in pain. In the moment I was hit, when I fell to the floor sure my life was ending, all I could think about was you." I had to stop because it felt like cotton balls were lodged in my throat. Tears were threatening to spill over my eyes as well as hers.

"In those seconds, I was mourning everything I'd lost. How I'd never get to see you walk down an aisle toward me, how I'd never get to see your face in our children, how I'd never get to see streaks of silver in your hair. But, at the same time, I couldn't be bothered. If me dying meant you living," I shrugged again, painfully, "how could that be anything but good?"

She completely lost it at that. Her tears spilled over and she sobbed, putting a hand over her heart. Then she took a deep breath and met my eyes, wiping her tears away with her free hand. "America," I said again, her name being the most wonderful word that had ever passed through my lips, "I know you see a king here, but let me clear; this isn't a command. This is a request, a plea. I beg you; make me the happiest man alive. Please do me the honor of becoming my wife."

She shook her head and for a horrifying second I thought she was saying no but then she threw her arms around me. My happiness overshadowed the pain searing through my shoulder and chest as I held her closer. I kissed her, forcefully at first but then slower, deeper…trying to convey everything I couldn't have said through my actions.

I pulled away and looked at her. I had once thought of this place as a prison where I'd be jailed under my father's aggressive rule and temper but she made this place beautiful, the way I remembered it from my childhood. She was my home, my family. And my life focused into a pinhole on the one word that passed through her lips.

"Yes."

**How was that? I hope everyone liked it! Tell me what you think!**

**P.S. anyone else here watch Reign? did you watch it last night? Because...yeah...I just can't even.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter was requested by Maxon's Rose! it was a lot longer than I intended it to be but it's another one from Maxon's point of view. it is the scene in her bedroom after she returns from Carolina up until the beginning of my last chapter. I know it's out of order so sorry for the confusion but it's just the way things were requested! If you have any other requests from parts of the trilogy you would like from Maxon's POV or moments in their future lives after the One, let me know! **

**And thanks so much Lady Unimportant and winterprincess for the amazing reviews!...actually, just thanks to everyone. I would have never dreamed how much you guys liked this so it's exciting seeing your responses! I will try to honor any other requests I get. thanks guys!**

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_"Here's to the night I stood alone. To the night I cried so hard I couldn't breathe, to the night I prayed for him to come back to me, and of course to the night where he never looked back."_

* * *

"Your Majesty, Lady America has returned," a guard reported, entering my room. I looked up at him as if he was just a figment of my imagination. I had been waiting to hear those words for days. Since she left I was counting the seconds until she returned until I finally couldn't stand it anymore and had to call her back here myself.

It scared me how much I loved America. I knew that I would jump in front of a moving train for her because the only thing that scared me more than my affection for her was the thought of a world without her. It was a completely different fear than that of the rebels or my father but it was still real; if anything it was more real.

I nodded to the guard. "Thank you. Is she in the reception?"

"She was there briefly but we believe she went back to her room."

Smiling, I told him, "I'll be heading that way shortly. You're dismissed." He bowed and left me. I stood and went to my closet and opened the drawer that held everything most dear to me. There were letters from my mother from times she was traveling, my first tie that I had long since grown out of, and America's file. I felt like a stalker keeping her application file in that drawer but that picture was so stunning I couldn't bear to even hang it on my wall. It used to sit right next to Kriss's card she had made me but I threw the card away weeks ago.

I lifted the gift-wrapped picture and cursed myself for doing such a shabby job on it. Then I lifted up the envelope with the letters in it. Before I could think twice about it, I tucked them both under my arm and walked down to America's room. I couldn't get there fast enough. It was like she wasn't really back until I saw her with my own eyes.

I knocked on the door, rubbing my thumb over the corners on the envelope and picture frame. I shuffled my feet and tried to calm my pounding heart. Why was I nervous? I checked my watch and realized that I had been standing there for about a minute and she still hadn't answered. I was about to knock again when the door swung open and America stood there.

She obviously wasn't expecting me by the surprise in her eyes but a small smile crept onto her face. She was really here. I was stunned more than ever by her presence. She looked tired and drawn and just drained emotionally but she was still beautiful. I felt like the space between us was sparking with romantic energy. I suddenly wondered how I lived through those last several days because I was made acutely aware of how much I missed her.

"Hi," I said, realizing I had to say something.

She sighed. "Hi." There was a long pause where we just looked at each other. I wondered if she could tell how much I loved her just by the way I was looking at her. Probably. "Do you want to come in?" she finally offered.

"Oh. Um, yes, I do," I stuttered nervously. The envelope was burning in my hand. She had seen it so now I had to give it to her. I had no choice. I looked around her room, taking it in. The thought that tonight would be her last night sleeping in here sent a thrill through me. "How are you feeling?" I asked her, concern for her creeping back in slowly.

"Okay. It doesn't really feel like he's gone, especially now that I'm here. I feel like I could write him a letter and he'd still get it," she admitted.

I nodded, not really having any comparison for her feelings. I could only be empathetic. "How's your family?" _Soon to be my family_, I added as an afterthought.

She sighed and shrugged a little bit. "Mom is holding it together, and Kenna is a rock. It's mostly May and Gerad I'm worried about. Kota couldn't have been any meaner about the whole thing. It's like he didn't love him at all, and I don't understand that. You met my dad. He was so sweet."

I smiled, remembering my conversation with him in the gardens. In hindsight, I was so glad I got to have that conversation with him. I didn't think I would be able to propose to his daughter without his approval. "He was," I agreed. "I'm glad I at least got to meet him. I can see bits of him in you, you know."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows, not believing it. How could she not see it all?

"Absolutely!" I affirmed. I put my parcels in one hand and slipped my free arm around her, guiding her to her bed so we could talk more comfortably. "Your sense of humor, for one. And your tenacity. When he and I spoke during his visit, he grilled me. It was nerve-racking, but kind of funny at the same time. You've never just let me off the hook either. Of course, you have his eyes and I think his nose, too." Lord knew I would remember that with the amount of times I caught myself staring at her. "And I can see your optimism beaming out sometimes. He gave me that impression as well." I shook my head as she stared at me with misty eyes. "All I'm saying is, it's okay to be sad about this, but you can be sure the best of him is still around." If I really had my way in the next few minutes, the best of her father would be around for future generations.

She suddenly threw her arms around me and I held her with my free hand. I could feel the wetness of her cheeks on my neck. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I mean it."

"I know you do. Thanks." She sniffed and pulled away, her eyes flicking down to the parcels still in my hand. "What's this all about?" she finally asked, nodding to my hand.

"Oh." It was now or never. I couldn't back out then. "I can't believe I'm actually giving this to you but, and you have to wait to look at them until I'm not here, but…it's for you to keep." I hoped that when we were old and gray she would still have these letters because as embarrassing as they were, I felt that they were the epitome of our relationship. They represented the end of the Selection and the beginning of our marriage.

She smiled as I set the envelope on her bedside table. "Okay."

I took a deep breath, glad to have that out of the way. "This is a little less embarrassing. Sorry the wrapping is so bad."

"It's fine," she said but I knew she was lying. I was sure a five-year-old could have done better and I could tell she was trying not to laugh at the crooked seams and tearing at the paper on the back. She tore off the paper and I waited for it to soak in with a held breath. There were more questions in her eyes as she said, "It's beautiful. Did you take it yourself?"

I laughed, not expecting her to jump to this conclusion. "Oh, no. The picture isn't the gift; the house is."

She stared at me, stunned. "What?"

"I thought you'd want your family close by," I told her, not understanding what piece of the puzzle she was missing. "It's a short drive away," I added, hoping to clarify, "with plenty of room. Your sister and her little family would even be comfortable there, I think."

"Wha…I…" She was still staring and not comprehending.

I finally just had to tell her everything. Sentiment be damned. "You told me to send everyone home. I did. I had to keep one other girl – those are the rules – but…you said that if I could prove I loved you…"

There was a pause as realization dawned across her face. "…It's me?" she asked quietly, the words probably scaring her to death but not nearly as much as the answer she was waiting for.

"Of course it's you," I told her, awed at her disbelief. How could she ever think that it wasn't her? How could she ever think that I would send her home, that I would actually say goodbye to her?

She laughed nonsensically and kissed me all over my face, giggling. I craved the sound of her laugh. It was so beautiful compared to mine. But then again, with her I never felt self-conscious about anything; she knew nearly everything there was about me. She knew my deepest, darkest secrets and still loved me. Soon I was laughing along with her.

"We're getting married?" she finally exclaimed, pulling away to look deep into my eyes. I felt like melting under her gray gaze.

"Yes, we're getting married." It was the first time I really felt it deep down, that in a matter of months I would be vowing myself to her and promising myself true. I would see her walk down the aisle in a white gown. I would be standing by her side as a crown was placed upon her ginger hair.

She was in my lap but I didn't mind at all. This was the most passionate we had ever been with each other, that much I could tell by the way she eventually sobered and our smiles fell away. I felt my love for her deep down in my soul and vice versa. Every kiss spoke words in a language unknown to me before that very moment. It was a language that could only convey the deepest and sincerest of emotions. I felt loved and wanted in every kiss. I felt like the whole world was focused on that moment.

Soon there was no space between us. I could feel her heart racing right over where my heart was. Surely she could feel mine too. I felt her hands on my chest and soon my suit coat was lying behind me on the bed and I couldn't remember it getting there. Her shoes fell to the floor and I followed suit, trying to take them off without disturbing her as much as possible.

I held her to me as I lifted her against my hip and laid her down gently in the middle of her bed. Guided by a force I had never felt before, I moved my lips down her neck. She tugged on my tie, deafly removing it and tossing it over the edge of the bed with our shoes.

I smiled against her shoulder. "You're breaking a lot of rules, Miss Singer." Oh, how I craved to be able to call her Mrs. Schreave.

"You're the prince. You can just pardon me." And she was right.

I was thankful for all of that time I had spent with Celeste because it gave me some experience. I could only imagine if that was my first time making out with a girl like that; it probably would have been on par with my first kiss. Her fingers were undoing my buttons and I helped with the last few, my shirt feeling constricting. My shirt tugged on my arms as she slid it off of me.

I shivered as her hands brushed down my stomach, barely touching me. I wasn't cold though; I was shivering from exhilaration. I felt a tug on my belt and pressed my hips against her, moving a hand up her leg underneath her dress. I could just barely feel her undergarments with my middle finger. I ached for so much more of her and I felt my self-control slipping away with every nano-second that passed. Before the Selection I was determined to not be like my relative Damon Illéa and sleep with half of the girls but I was seriously considering breaking that rule just that one time.

Her nails dug into my back, along one of my scars and I immediately wanted to grab my shirt and run out of the room. All thoughts of romantic trysts stopped abruptly as I pulled away from her neck and looked at her.

"What?" she asked and I could see apprehension in her eyes.

"Does it…" What was the word? How could I ask her this? "Does it repulse you?"

"What do you mean?" She was genuinely confused.

I swallowed as I answered, "My back."

She dragged one of her hands down my cheek, leaving it cupped around my jaw. I saw every emotion I could possibly think of in her eyes but the one most prominent was love. "Maxon, some of those marks are on your back so they wouldn't be on mine, and I love you for them."

Did I hear that right? "What did you say?" My world stopped as I waited for her to answer.

She smiled and breathed out a laugh. "I love you."

"One more time, please? I just – "

She took my face in both of her hands. "Maxon Schreave, I love you. I love you."

My heart pounded in my ears and I felt my body getting excited again. "And I love you, America Singer. With all that I am, I love you." I brought my face up so our mouths could meet again. Her hands moved to my back and I didn't pause. These touches on my back were loving, not angry. Without thinking, I moved my hands to her own back and felt what seemed like hundreds of buttons winding up the back of her dress. "How many damn buttons does this thing have?" I asked, not meaning for the lame curse word to slip out but my frustration was clear.

"I know!" she agreed. "It's – "

I suddenly held her tight against me and flipped over so she was straddling me. I sat up so she was in my lap and placed my hands along the bust line of her dress. I couldn't ignore the thrill that went through me when I felt the softness of her skin and chest underneath my hands. With one strong pull, I ripped her dress down the front, revealing the slip underneath. More clothes, I sighed inwardly. I just wanted them all gone. I could only imagine what her body looked like underneath that thin layer of silk. It took too much effort for me to lift my eyes to hers but she held on to the eye contact as she straightened, sliding her dress down her back with more grace than I'd ever seen in her.

It was difficult and awkward but we eventually got her dress off of her and it joined my shirt, suit coat and tie on the floor with our shoes. I wanted to stay up all night with her, to explore this new feeling we'd discover. It felt as if everything else in the world was gone…until we heard a crash in the hall. I stared at the door, sure that my father would be bursting in at any moment. And if he saw us like this…she wouldn't just be going home. He would know then that I had told her about his abuse and without us being married or even engaged yet, he could still make an "accident" happen.

"It's not him," she whispered, reading my mind. "It's probably one of the girls stumbling to her room, or a maid cleaning something. It's okay."

I released the breath I had been holding and collapsed next to her on the bed, covering my eyes with an arm. "I can't, America. Not like this." The words pained me to say but I knew that that was not the way I wanted to lose my virginity or take hers. I didn't want to be scared to death of being discovered. I wanted to be able to relax and trust that it was just us. I wanted to lose myself in her. "I want to let all the walls down with you. You deserve that. And I can't now." I looked at her. "I'm sorry."

She smiled but disappointed lingered in her eyes. "It's okay."

"Don't be said," I told her. "I want to take you on a proper honeymoon. Someplace warm and private. No duties, no cameras, no guards." I wrapped my arms around her, absolute privacy being something that only existed in my imagination. "It will be so much better that way. And I can really spoil you."

I could bear the wait as long as I had that to look forward to. But then she said, "You can't spoil me, Maxon. I don't want anything."

My face was close to hers as I smiled. "Oh, I know. I don't intend on giving you things. Well, I do intend on giving you things, but that's not what I mean. I'm going to love you more than any man has ever loved a woman, more than you ever dreamed you could be loved. I promise you that." I had to kiss her. Something had taken hold of my heart those last few moments and it was suddenly twice as hard to not touch her.

"Maxon?" she asked quietly.

"Yes?"

She hesitated a moment. "Would you stay with me tonight?" I raised my eyebrows, not knowing what she was really asking me for. "I'll behave, I promise. Just…would you sleep here?"

Since that night in the safe room, I craved another time I could sleep with her in my arms but my self-control had been non-existent thus far. I looked at her beautiful face and decided that no matter what, I would stop myself if things ever got that far. There was also my father to think about. What if he needed me late tonight? And I would need to talk to my parents in the morning to tell them my final decision. If I was needed and my father found me there…it would be endgame for my relationship with her. But I needed her like I needed air. I couldn't sleep without her by my side, I knew that after spending the night with her in the safe room. "I will. But I'll need to leave early."

"Okay," she said and I could see how happy she was by my decision.

I couldn't help but smile at the relief in her eyes. "Okay." I took off my pants and socks. I couldn't remember the last time I slept in such little clothing. As of late, I had been sleeping in decent clothing in the case of an attack or emergency meeting with my parents. It was almost soothing to be back to this casualty. I crawled back to her, snuggling up against her under the covers. I could feel her heart pounding. Her small body seemed to fit perfectly within mine.

"Sleep well, my America," I whispered, placing a quiet kiss behind her ear.

There was a pause before she said, "I love you."

I held her tighter. "I love you." The euphoria of our union seemed to fill the air with thousands of electric particles, sparking and playing with other atoms. With the assurance that she loved me, sleep had no problem overtaking me.

I woke up the next morning, expecting to feel disoriented but quite on the contrary, I felt rested and at ease. Somewhere in the night we had shifted so her head was on my chest. Tiny strands of red hair brushed my chin as my chest rose and fell slowly. I knew she was awake because I felt her body tense slightly. "We could wake up like this every day," I mumbled into her hair, my lips lingering there.

She laughed. "You're reading my mind."

I always did seem to answer her thoughts and her mine. I sighed. "How are you feeling, my dear?" I figured I would try this again.

"I feel like punching you for calling me 'my dear' mostly." She poked my stomach and I couldn't contain the laugh.

I sat up so I was leaning down over her. "Fine then." I had to have some nickname for her. "My darling? My pet? My love?"

"Any of those would work, so long as you've reserved it solely for me," she told me, her hands tracing over the bare skin on my chest. "What am I supposed to call you?"

"Your Royal Husbandness. It's required by law, I'm afraid." My own hands glided over her skin, winding up to the soft spots on her neck.

She squirmed away. "Don't!"

Triumph swelled within me. "You're ticklish!" She protested but I couldn't resist in running my hands all over her, delighting in her squeals. My fingers brushed a particularly sensitive spot on her waist and she shrieked. Her scream brought in the guard from outside, his gun drawn and green eyes searching for the threat. America screamed again and brought the covers up to hide herself, her face turning red.

The guard looked taken aback and almost sad at the sight in front of him. His eyes flashed between the two of us but I couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. I had always imagined this happening. "I assure you, Leger, she's perfectly safe."

Officer Leger cleared his throat and looked at the wall, avoiding eye contact with either of us. "Of course, Your Majesty." He bowed and left, closing the door behind him.

America fell over, moaning into her pillow. I felt bad for her embarrassment but I was secretly exhilarated by the thought of someone catching us in the middle of something. I hugged her. "Don't be so embarrassed. It's not as if we were naked. And it's bound to happen in the future."

"It's so humiliating," she wailed into her pillow.

Wait, what? She was embarrassed to be caught with me? "To be caught in bed with me?"

"No! It's not you. It's just, I don't know, this was supposed to be private." Regret seeped in her voice. I realized that she must have never been caught like this before and though I hadn't either, this was my home. She was technically still a guest. She also had just professed her love for me and I could see where she wanted privacy. But privacy wasn't part of a One's job description.

I stroked her cheek, hoping to soothe her. "I'm sorry. I know it's going to be hard for you, but people will always be looking at our lives now. For the first few years, there will probably be a lot of interference. All the kings and queens have had only children. Some by choice, I'm sure; but after the difficulty my mother had, they'll want to make sure we can even have a family." The words spilled out and I felt awkward talking this far in advance before we were even engaged. I loved her and I wanted her to have my children but it seemed too soon to be talking about having children. I just wanted a big family so badly and I was scared my mother's poor luck would follow me.

She reached up and cupped my cheek. "Hey. I'm one of five, remember? I have really good genes in that department. It'll be all right."

I smiled, relieved to hear the thrill in her voice. "I really hope so. Partly because, yes, we're duty bound to produce heirs. But also…I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy seasons and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingerprints on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you." I could see our lives perfectly, more clearly than with any other woman. I knew we would have fights; with the two of us, it was inevitable. Our temperaments were oil and water but somehow it worked as perfectly as cake and ice cream.

"I want that, too," she assured me again. Her confession of wanting a large family on our first date was still fresh in my mind and I worried that I wouldn't be able to do that for her.

"How about we make it official in a few hours?"

She shrugged. "I guess I don't have any other plans today."

Again, I couldn't contain myself and I practically tackled her, pinning her to the bed so I could shower her body with kisses. I could tell she was still shaken up by Officer Leger by her reluctance in kissing me back so I stopped. I got dressed as she pulled on her robe. I saw her try to not look at my back as I pulled my shirt on and I felt self-conscious but I didn't miss the almost admiration in her eyes as she quickly looked away.

I gave her one last kiss before leaving. It was harder to part with her than I thought it would be. I told myself it was only for a few hours and that the wait would be so worth it. Of course, I had matters to attend to, starting with Officer Leger. I looked him squarely in the eye, sensing that there was more to his baffled reaction than just surprise. "The lady would appreciate your discretion, officer." _I would really like your discretion too, _I added in my head.

He nodded solemnly and I continued on down the hall. I ran up the steps to my room, surprising a couple maids who were carrying breakfast trays. "Good morning!" I greeted, unable to contain my happiness. In just hours I would be engaged to the woman I loved.

I didn't have time to change my whole suit so I hoped changing my tie would be enough to make it seem like I didn't not sleep in my own room the night before. I ran back downstairs and slowed when I got down to the second floor, pacing myself for this conversation I had to have with Kriss. I paced a couple times outside her door before I finally knocked. I wasn't nervous to tell her that I wasn't choosing her. I was nervous for her reaction.

"Maxon?" I heard a voice ask from behind me.

I turned and saw Kriss, already dressed, walking toward me. "I thought you would be in your room," I explained.

She nodded. "Yes, I was just visiting some of the girls."

I found it odd that she would be doing that so early in the morning. The palace was only just starting to wake up. I couldn't imagine that the girls were awake. Then again, with Kriss I always felt that there was more to the story.

She smiled and leaned on her toes to kiss my cheek. I couldn't help but notice the lack of chemistry in the motion. With America simply being this close to her would be enough to make me want to rip her clothes off but with Kriss there was none of that.

"Would you like to come for a walk with me? I wish to talk to you about something," I told her.

She nodded eagerly. "Of course." There was caution in her eyes and I knew that she was not under any pretense as to what I was most likely going to tell her.

We started walking down the hallway with our hands loosely entwined. I just couldn't wait to get this over with so I could get back to America. My wish came true though because as we rounded the corner I saw her, her body pressed into Officer Leger's. She backed away like he shocked her. He turned to face me but he was obviously too stunned to speak.

I didn't know what went through my mind first but I just remember hearing this earth-shattering scream inside. I knew it was too good to be true. I knew there was something strange about the two of them, how they were always so _chummy_…they were seeing each other. America had lied. She had lied about everything.

I heard Kriss gasp beside me but all I could see was red and America shaking her head quickly. I took a deep breath and said, "I found Kriss in the hall and was coming to explain my choice to your both before the cameras showed up, but it seems we have other things to discuss."

America looked at Kriss and I realized that Kriss actually looked upset. "Kriss, would you please return to your room? Quietly?" I didn't leave any room in my voice for argument and I knew she would listen to me. She curtsied and walked away, looking over her shoulder before she rounded the corner.

I had to take another deep breath before exploding. "I knew it. I told myself I was crazy, because surely you would have told me if I was right. You were supposed to be honest with me." I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. How many times had I let myself be pulled into her scheme against my better judgment? "I cannot believe I didn't trust myself. From that first meeting, I knew it. The way you looked at him how distracted you were. That damn bracelet you wore, the note on the wall, all those times when I thought I had you and then suddenly lose you again…it was you," I said, turning to Officer Leger.

"Your Majesty, this is my fault. I pursued her. She made it perfectly clear that she had no intentions of being in a relationship with anyone but you, but I went after her anyway." I wanted to believe him but he was just as much a liar as her.

I stepped up closer to him and stared him down. "What's your name? Your first name?"

He swallowed. "Aspen."

"Aspen Leger," I said slowly. How many times had she whispered his name? How many times had she sighed his name in his ear like she had done with me no more than ten minutes ago? I could just imagine them meeting secretly, laughing at my stupidity behind my back. "Get out of my sight before I send you to New Asia to die."

He looked terrified. "Your Majesty, I – "

"GO!" I shouted, losing all control for a half second. He turned and walked away. I had no idea what he was about to say but I had no interest in hearing it. She finally met my eye and I saw a world of hurt in her eyes. I nudged my chin to her room and she walked in, me close behind. I closed the door and ran a hand through my hair. I saw the bed that we slept in last night. I was so glad I stopped myself before we went too far. "How long?" I asked quietly, my anger simmering and about to explode.

"Do you remember that fight – "

"We've been fighting since the day we met, America! You'll have to be more specific!"

She was shaking. "After Kriss's party."

I felt my eyes widen. There was no way it was that long. Months. _Months _this had been going on right under my nose. "So basically since he got here," I said.

"Maxon, I'm so sorry. At first I was protecting him, and then I was protecting myself. And after Marlee was caned, I was afraid to tell you the truth. I couldn't lose you," she pleaded.

"Lose me?" I repeated. "Lose _me_? You're going home with a small fortune, a new caste, and a man who is still pursuing you! I'm the one losing here today, America!"

"I'm going home?"

Was she seriously stupid enough I would still want to marry her? "How many times am I supposed to let you break my heart, America? Do you think I'd honestly marry you, make you my princess, when you've been lying to me for most of our relationship? I refuse to torture myself for the rest of my life. You might have noticed, I get plenty of that already."

She started crying and it took everything in me to not comfort her. To not wrap her in my arms and forgive her for everything. Then I kicked myself for even thinking that. What else could she have possibly been lying about? "Maxon, please. I'm sorry; it's not what it looked like. I s-swear. I love you!"

I stepped up closer to her, shutting all of my emotions away. "Of all the lies you've told me, that's the one I resent the most."

"It's not – "

I sent her a look that should have killed her. "Have your maids do their best. You should go out in style." She was really just too beautiful to be so depressed. The last thing I saw as I walked out was the envelope sitting on her bedside table. I considered taking it but something was telling me to leave it there for her.

I sauntered back up to my room, completely forgetting about Kriss. My mother was waiting for me outside my door with a knowing smile on her face. "I went to check on you last night and saw that you weren't there. Out all night, I see?" She eyed my suit, the fact that it was the same one from the day before not getting past her. I just stepped past her and walked to my closet to pick out the suit I would be wearing for the party. I hated disrespecting my mother because she got enough of it from Father but I was in no mood for banter. "How's America this morning?"

"I'm not marrying her," I told her quickly.

Mom gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. I ignored her reaction. "What?" she asked. "How could you not be marrying her?"

I finally turned to face her. My eyes started to burn with tears that were begging to be shed but I swallowed them back. "I can't explain. Just know that I've made my decision and I'm marrying Kriss."

"But…the ring – "

"I know," I said, cutting her off and staring at the row of shirts hanging in front of me. "I can have the jeweler fix it later."

My mom stood there for another few moments before approaching me and just resting her hand on my arm. She didn't have to say anything. I knew how close she had become with America and how much this was paining her as well. "I love you," she said, kissing my cheek and wiping the lipstick off with her thumb. She smiled sadly at me and walked out, leaving me to my thoughts.

The Great Room was packed for the party. For once, instead of my parents being the focal point of the room, it was me. I saw it as a good warm-up for when I was king but I was never a very good actor and it was hard to pretend that the woman on my right was not the bane of my existence.

I made it a point to ignore her, focusing my attention on Kriss. I also just needed to try to get into a place with Kriss where marrying her wasn't such a terrible thing. I could see the Selected girls and they all seemed to be waving and cheering America on. None of them were saying a thing to Kriss. Celeste and America were having some kind of silent conversation and Celeste looked sad and furious at me at the same time. I looked away from her at the table in the back of the room where the Northern rebels were seated.

I just wanted to get the night over with. I looked over at America and saw her looking up at Officer Leger, who had ironically been placed as guard at our table. "Trying to arrange a time to meet later?" I asked her, venom leaking out of my voice.

"No, of course not," she told me, whipping her head back to look at me.

I shrugged. "It's not like it matters. Kriss's family will be here this afternoon for a small celebration, and yours will be here to take you home. They don't like for the last loser to be alone. She tends to get dramatic." I kept my voice flat even though I just wanted to break down and apologize. But I couldn't. She was a liar, a traitor. I was not going to let myself be fooled anymore. "You can keep the house if you want. It's paid for. I'd like my letters back though."

"I read them," she whispered. "I loved them." And she meant it. That's what was killing me. I could tell how heartbroken she was and I could also tell that there was so much more to this story but I couldn't take any more risks on her.

I snorted. "Don't know what I was thinking."

"Please don't do this. Please. I love you." Her face was crumbling. She was so close to making me take her back but if I had to suffer through this, she had to as well. She was trying everything she could to make me forgive her and I refused to get sucked into her manipulation.

"Don't. You. Dare," I ordered through gritted teeth. "You put on a smile, and you wear it to the last second." She blinked back some tears and gave a weak smile. God, she was beautiful. "That'll do. Don't let that slip until you leave the room, do you understand?" She nodded. "I'll be glad when you're gone," I spat at her. I didn't turn back to Kriss fast enough to not see the devastation on her face.

She kept her head bowed for several moments and then looked up, staring at the walls and completely overlooking the people. In an act that should have looked cowardly, she looked empowered. Even with glistening eyes and a broken heart, she exuded confidence and control. I found myself asking myself for the thousandth time that day why I couldn't forgive her and again, I couldn't find an answer.

I followed her eyes in time to see the guards pull pieces of red fabric from their pockets and tie them across their foreheads. Then one of them walked up behind Celeste and put a bullet squarely through the back of her head. The screaming and gunfire exploded at once. Guttural shouts of pain filled the room, adding to the cacophony of chairs screeching, bodies hitting walls, and the stampede of people trying to escape as fast as they could in their heels and suits.

Kriss started screaming and crying, her hands covering her face. She was going into shock and I had to get her to safety. Beside me, America wasn't moving at all. She was just watching. "Get on the floor," I told Kriss. "We're going to be fine." _Nothing about this is going to be fine_, I thought as I remembered the last time the rebels invaded the palace posing as guards. The death count from that was so high and there were so many people in this room.

A rebel was standing in front of us, Kriss crying out again as she jumped out of her chair to the floor. America sat in her chair transfixed as the rebel raised his gun and pointed it at me. She looked at me and looked back and in that moment the apologies flew between us, as well as fear mixed with love.

The rebel suddenly smiled and shifted his gun so that it was pointed at America. This wasn't happening. There was no way. Her story was not going to end this way. She didn't react as I jumped from my chair and flew in front of her at the same time Officer Leger pushed her to the ground.

Fire swept through my chest as I fell to the ground half-underneath the table. I knew right away that I had been hit and it was bad. "I got him! Find the king!" the rebel yelled and from underneath the table cloth I saw him run off. Through the crack I could see my people dying, left and right. They were terrified and I was stuck under a table. This wasn't where I was supposed to be.

I heard Kriss quiet and wondered if she was dead too. I didn't dare think about whether America was alive or dead. Instead I thought about everything I wasn't going to have with her. Moments that we never got to share flashed before my eyes. Her walking down the aisle in a white dress; me placing a crown on her head, bowing before her; a honeymoon on a white-sand beach; her carrying my children; us waking up next to each other when we were old and gray…I never wanted anything more in my life than I wanted all of that.

The table cloth lifted and America emerged. "Oh, Maxon," she cried. She balled up the hem of her dress and pressed it to the wound in my chest, aggravating the fire. "I'm so sorry." What on earth was she apologizing for? My vision started to get blurry. This was it. This was how it felt to die.

I reached up and covered her hand with mine. "No, I'm sorry. I was about to ruin both our lives."

She shook her head. "Don't talk right now. Just focus, okay?"

"Look at me, America." There was so much I had to say and I knew I didn't have much time to say it. She had to get to safety. She blinked and I managed to smile at her bravery. "Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway."

"Shhh," she urged.

"I'll love you until my very last breath. Every beat of my heart is yours. I don't want to die without you know that." Breathing was getting harder. It felt like my lungs just weren't working, like an elephant was sitting on me. A firey elephant.

She shook her head. "Please don't," she choked out.

I laced my hand through her hair, blood streaking it. I tried to pull her toward me but I didn't have the strength. She knew what I wanted though. She bent to kiss me. it was every kiss we'd ever had, all the uncertainty, all the hope.

"Don't give up, Maxon," she pleaded. "I love you; please don't give up."

I took a shuddering breath as Officer Leger ducked under the table, spooking America. "Kriss is in a safe room, Your Majesty," he reported. "Your turn. Can you stand?"

I shook my head. "A waste of time. Take her." Thoughts were getting harder to string together as pain clouded my mind.

"But, Your Majesty – "

"That's an order," I demanded, my voice weak with what sounded like exhaustion but I knew it was death.

We stared at each other for a long time before he said, "Yes, sir."

"No! I won't go!" America refused, holding my hand tighter.

"You'll go," I told her. She had to. I wasn't lying here dying for nothing. She had to live.

"Come on, Mer. We'll have to hurry."

She shook her head and cried harder. "I'm not leaving!"

I reached up and grabbed the front of Officer Leger's uniform, ignoring the agonizing pain that shot through my body at the movement. "She lives. Do you understand me? Whatever it takes, she lives." I knew that if it came down to it, he would lay down his life as well for her. He just tried. I got to her first though.

He nodded and grabbed America. "No! Maxon, please!" she begged, crying in earnest.

I tried to squeeze her hand one more time but it was so hard. I felt like someone had poured concrete into my bloodstream. "Be happy," I breathed out. The last thing I was aware of was her stricken face and her yells as she was dragged away from me.


	4. Chapter 4

**If you guys knew what my life has been like the past week...I mean, man. I'm graduating in a week and I'm still up to my neck with homework. haha. and then my computer got a virus so I shouldn't even be using it right now but I love you all so much that I am anyway. :) not to mention I'm basically dating a guy who has a girlfriend so there's that. it's complicated so don't take it as it is and assume I'm an awful person because there's a lot more at work there than it sounds. let's just say this guy is Maxon, I'm America and the other girl is Natalie, if that gives you any kind of perspective. **

**anyway lovelies, thank you for the amazing reviews! this chapter kinda picks up where Chapter One left off. I hope you like it and again, if you want to see something in particular, just tell me. (And don't worry, they'll have kids, just further down the road.)**

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_"Forget all the reasons it won't work and hold on to the one for why it will!"_

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I walked out of my old bedroom with a box full of dresses in my arms and saw that Maxon was waiting for me. "Are you sure you don't want help?" he asked me for about the hundredth time. I really didn't know how he would manage to carry such a huge box with one arm but I knew that if I gave him the chance he would find a way.

Instead I told him, "You can take that small box on top." I nodded to the shoe box that I had put all of my smaller belongings that I had accumulated over the past few months as well as some extra things I brought from home the week before.

He looked disappointed by the menial task but he obliged anyway. "Let's go somewhere tonight," he suddenly suggested as we walked down the hallway to my suite.

"And where would that be?"

"It's a surprise, my dear," he teased.

I rolled my eyes at the endearment. "You should really stop surprising me. You're only raising my expectations for more presents."

He noticed the undercurrent of joy in my voice. "I thought you can't be spoiled?"

"I wasn't saying that I was enjoying all of these presents."

"Uh huh, sure." He nodded, smiling arrogantly because we both knew I was lying. Lucy immediately took the box from my arms when we reached my suite, her knees buckling slightly under the girth.

"You didn't have to help Princess," Lucy said, bustling over to my closet.

"I'm a Five, I'm used to it," I assured her as Mary emerged from the bathroom and reached for the box tucked under Maxon's arm.

He held on to it though. "I'd actually like to take some of these and put them in my room, with America's permission of course. And need I remind you, you're a One now?"

I raised my eyebrows but he still walked over to the door adjoining our rooms without question and disappeared inside. I laughed and went to my closet to help hanging the numerous dresses. From the bottom of the box, I lifted a pair of pants. I hadn't worn them for quite some time and suddenly they looked foreign to me. I knew putting them on would feel just as foreign. I had worn pants to sneak out a couple weeks ago but they were borrowed and threadbare. These were as impeccable as Maxon's suit pants.

I heard Maxon cough from behind me. I turned and smiled at him looking around the closet. My maids had disappeared. "We can get you more of these now that you're prin…queen," he corrected quickly.

I shook my head and put the pants back in the box. "I think I've had a change in heart actually."

"About being queen?" he asked nervously, fear and despair flashing in his eyes.

"No!" I exclaimed, not believing that he actually jumped to that conclusion. "No, if anything I'm more sure of that than ever." I reached for his hand and held it as his face returned to its normal shade of cream. "I meant about the pants. Dresses have grown on me a lot these past few months."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as I leaned closer to him. "And why is that?"

"Well, with pants, it's a lot harder to do this," I whispered, boldly wrapping a leg around him. I don't think he was expecting it though because when I leaned closer for more balance we suddenly topped over. He fell on the floor, taking most of the impact and my elbow landed right in his shoulder. He grunted in pain and practically threw me off of him. "I'm sorry!" I immediately apologized, putting a hand to my mouth. "Are you hurt?"

He had his uninjured arm thrown over his face so I couldn't see it and I was surprised to see him laughing when he removed it. "You really are quite the seductress!" He laughed his wonderfully ugly laugh and I couldn't help it – I started laughing with him. Soon we were both rolling on the floor, clutching our stomachs.

In that moment I could feel it; the tension and grief Maxon had been feeling the last few days was lifting and I even forgot about the ache in my chest for a moment. But our fun had to end. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I looked up at the door and saw Lucy standing there with a dress in her arms. She winked at us and then walked away, humming a soft melody as she went.

Maxon pushed himself up and held a hand out for me to help me to my feet. "And now on to your surprise!" He smiled widely and practically ran out of the room, dragging me behind.

When we were heading for what looked like the front doors to the palace, I finally had to ask, "Maxon, where are we going?"

"I told you," he said, reaching for the door handle of a door I had only passed through three times before in my life, "it's a surprise."

A sleek black car was waiting for us on the gravel drive, guards surrounding it. I started to look for Aspen but then I remembered that his days of being a guard were over with his bum leg. Maxon opened up the back door closest to us and allowed me to slide in before going over to his side. "This is the first time I've ridden in an actual car with you," I observed, smiling. Somehow the confined space made me think of our time in the safe room and the urge to rip off his clothes and kiss every inch of his body was nearly unbearable.

"Well, I must say, this may be the best car ride I ever have in my life for that very reason." He smiled and reached for my hand across the seat. There were two more guards in the front seat and I noticed there was an armored vehicle driving both in front and behind. "We think the Southern rebels were put to rest during that last attack but we just want to be safe," Maxon explained, seeing the question in my eyes.

"Then why are we not in a tank?" I asked, sensing that there may be more to this car than met the eye.

Maxon laughed. "It may not look like it, but this car is a tank. A bomb could go off underneath us and we'd drive away as if nothing happened."

I nodded, shuddering at the thought. "Good to know," I mumbled, staring out the window at the city that was now flying by. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that within days, all of this became mine. I was in control of all of it.

Before I knew it, we drove out of the city gates. I turned and looked out the back window in confusion. "Now will you tell me where we are going?"

Maxon was looking forward at the road we were flying down. "It should just be another couple minutes," he said, not answering my question.

The dry landscape started to slope upward and I could sense a rise in elevation as my ears started popping. I frowned at the minor discomfort and watched as the sand and dirt turned into lush grass. We drove through a large gate and down a long, windy drive. The bushes on the side of the drive parted to give me a glimpse of the house from the picture. "This is it?" I asked, turning to look at Maxon.

He smiled and nodded. "Go see," he urged as we rolled to a stop on the gravel drive. I did as he said but I ran straight to the grass, slipping my shoes off and putting my bare feet in the green, smiling at the feeling of the earth meeting skin. It felt as wonderful as I had imagined. I heard Maxon's quiet laughed behind me and I shook my head at him.

"Laugh at me if you want but you don't know how much I've missed groomed grass," I told him.

"I understand but I do really want you to see the rest of the house." He tipped his chin to the house that seemed even bigger now than it looked in the picture.

I sighed and put my heels on again, holding his hand as we walked through the front door. I knew immediately that this was not the palace but it could still probably fit five of the house lived in in Carolina. As if I needed more assurance that Maxon was the one for me, this place just didn't feel like home like the palace.

The wood floors spread through the rooms and even paneled the bottom half of the walls in what looked like the dining room. "Do you like it?" Maxon asked nervously and I realized then that he was actually scared I wouldn't. This house meant a lot to him because it was his present to my family and the first step in them approving of him.

"I'm sure they'll all love it," I told him, smiling at him warmly.

"Ames!" a familiar voice called me from down the hallway.

I raised my eyebrows. "Wait, what…?" I walked down the hall to the kitchen and saw my family in the kitchen. My whole family; Mom, Kenna, James, Astra, May and Gerad. Only Kota was missing and I honestly wasn't bothered by that. They all smiled at me from where they were standing or sitting but then they noticed my fiancé behind me.

Maxon actually looked nervous. I knew that he felt silly with his arm still in a sling but I still thought he pulled off the intimidating posture of a king. I reached for his hand and he stepped closer to me. I looked back and saw May craning her neck to see my ring. "Um, everyone…this is Maxon. Maxon, this is well…everyone." I smiled looking at my family and Maxon and their different reactions.

Mom and May had already met him but they were still obviously in shock that I was really marrying this man who happened to be the king. Finally, James stood and approached us. He reached his hand out to Maxon and my fiancé quickly let go of my hand to shake James's hand.

"On behalf of the Singer family, I'd just like to say welcome," James said with a small smile.

I let out the breath I'd been holding and saw Maxon do the same thing, his face breaking into a huge smile. "Thank you," he said graciously, actually bowing his head at my family.

May jumped off of the stool she had been sitting on and completely bypassed me to hug Maxon. He was taken by surprise at first because he stumbled back a few steps but I nodded to him encouragingly so he slipped his good arm around her. "You have excellent taste in women Maxon!"

"May!" I hissed at her flipped disregard of his title.

"What? He's my brother now, like James!" she exclaimed, pulling away from him. "I can call you Maxon, right?"

Maxon squinted as he deliberated. "Only if you help me find a nickname for America since she insists that she's not my dear."

I rolled my eyes as May stuck out her small hand for a handshake. "Deal."

Gerad slunk up to us then and looked at Maxon seriously. "If you even think about hurting her, you're gonna have to answer to me."

I could see Maxon struggle to hide his smile as he answered, "Actually, I think I'll have to answer to her first which is absolutely terrifying but if I'm still alive after that, I will most certainly come see you." Gerad nodded and walked out to the backyard through the French doors and I saw him pick up a soccer ball and start dribbling it around the large expanse of green.

The air in the kitchen was only getting more awkward so Maxon finally said, "I would just like for you all to know that I love America very much. I know this is going to be a strange transition but I will do my best to make it go smoothly. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Mom laughed. "For Pete's sake, Maxon, you don't need to be so formal!" she exclaimed and I saw Kenna's mouth turn up at her. "We're all just excited to see her happy and I don't need to worry about her marrying a Six anymore."

Maxon and I both winced at the reference to the castes and also the reference to Aspen, whom we had yet to really talk about. I wasn't worried that Maxon would push me away like I was before but I was still dreading the conversation.

James cleared his throat and walked to the doors Gerad had just gone through. "Anyone hungry? Magda just put some food out on the back patio."

I nodded and looked at Maxon who shrugged. "Sure, I'm free for the rest of the day," he agreed, actually releasing my hand and following James out the doors. I watched him go, unsure of whether I should follow or not.

"He's fine with James," Kenna said from her seat at the breakfast table. She was burping Astra and I could see she had circles under her eyes from exhaustion. I hoped that now that they are all in this new house with more room she would be able to relax a bit more and enjoy spending time with her daughter. "James has really stepped up these past couple weeks. He's been taking care of Gerad and May while also being a good husband and son," she said quietly, keeping her voice down so she didn't upset Mom.

Kenna looked out the window at James who was setting places at the table on the patio with a brand new dining set. I looked past him at my own love who had taken off his tie and dress shirt and was trying to play soccer with Gerad in his cotton shirt. I could see him struggling though with his arm and chest bandaged and still confined to the sling.

We slowly made our way outside and I noticed the guards standing throughout the yard. Of course my family had to have security now. Kenna caught me looking and said, "Maxon called a couple days ago to warn us about the extra guards. I'm surprised you were able to get more guards for us though after the devastation at the palace."

"Well being allies with the Northern rebels certainly helped with us being able to get more guards. It meant the guards stationed up north could come here, to the palace, or go down south."

"Kenna, can you help me?" James called, starting to move the bowls of food over to the table. May called to Gerad and Maxon that it was time to eat.

She looked at me and I held out my arms to Astra who was quickly falling asleep. I cradled her in my arms and looked down at her tiny face, impressed by how much she'd grown since I last saw her. Maxon ran over and slowed down when he saw me holding the baby. He smiled and then walked over to my side of the table, pulling a chair out for me. I sat down and he took the seat on my left, still staring. "Do you want to hold her?" I asked quietly, well aware that my family was watching us like hawks. Maxon looked like he didn't know how to answer so I smiled and held her out to him. "Here."

"I've never held a baby before," he whispered, seeming embarrassed by it.

"Well there's a first time for everything. And it's better to practice with someone else's child." I wasn't sure if that was true or not but I just wanted him to do this.

Maxon sighed and reached out his arms. I shifted her in my arms so that I could still support her head and neck while also passing her over. I let her head settle in the crook of his elbow and her feet rested on his other forearm. She was so small and his arms were so huge that she basically fit in one arm. He was rigid at first. I wound an arm around his shoulders, being careful with his injured one, and rested my chin next to one of my hands. I could feel sweat on his back slowly soaking through his shirt and smiled. I liked this fun, dirty, family-oriented Maxon.

Kenna sat down across from him at the table and smiled at me but Maxon was too absorbed with the small human in his arms to notice. I looped my arm through his elbow but left my chin on his shoulder. "Where can we get one?" he whispered so that no one else would hear.

I laughed. "I think I have a pretty good idea of where we can do that but I believe you were waiting for a certain honeymoon for that to happen." He nodded and kept his eyes on Astra.

"You may think she's adorable now," Kenna said, "but you haven't seen her at three in the morning."

We all laughed and Maxon looked up to Kenna. "I'll hold on to her for dinner, you relax," he offered.

Kenna looked genuinely surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, I ate back at the palace." I knew he was lying but I didn't want to ruin this.

A guard approached us and bent down to whisper to Maxon. I thought back to the time where Maxon had to leave me whenever a guard had a report for him but now it was place beside him and I was privy to everything and in such cases as this one, that wasn't always a good thing. The guard whispered, "Your Majesty, Stavros has an urgent message for you."

Maxon nodded and held Astra out to me. I took her gladly, knowing that he would tell me what this was about later. "He can't take a break for dinner?" Mom asked, dishing out some broccoli salad.

"Mom, he's king. He doesn't really get time off," I reminded her.

She huffed as James asked, "How's he been doing with that anyway?"

I shrugged, too preoccupied with watching him talking to a guard away from the group. Whatever they were talking about, it was serious. Maxon's entire demeanor changed. He was stiff and he was clamping his teeth down. "Fine so far," I answered vaguely.

"Well, the country hasn't fallen completely into turmoil and with you at the helm, that says something," Mom said smartly, touching her napkin to her lips daintily.

I decided to ignore her comment and ask a question that had been eating away at me. "Where's Kota?"

Mom cleared her throat and looked down at her food, playing with her fork. "He chose to stay in Carolina."

"Really? I feel like he wouldn't be able to wait until he could become Ones with the rest of you guys," I said, looking at Kenna for more of an explanation.

My older sister just sighed. "I think he was upset that the thing with you and Aspen didn't have any repercussions."

"No repercussions? I was almost sent home! If it weren't for the rebels attacking, I would be here, alone and as a Three," I told them, forgetting that they didn't know the whole story. "Look, I'm only here by chance. This entire process has been luck and though I think myself as lucky for being able to fall in love with Maxon, I am even more lucky that he was able to fall in love with me."

Kenna nodded. "We know that. Just…don't worry about Kota, okay? He's made his choice with this family and we've made our feelings about it clear. No need for us to dwell on it further."

Maxon walked back to the table, clearly shaken up. Our conversation ceased as he bent down to say to me, "We need to get back to the palace, now."

I stood and passed Astra off to May's waiting arms. "What's wrong?" I asked as we walked a couple feet away, out of hearing distance of my family.

"We've found the AWOL soldiers," he reported and I could see that this wasn't a good thing.

I nodded. "We should get back anyway." I turned to my family. "Sorry we can't stay but we have important business to attend to. Um, call us anytime you want, you have our personal number. We'll set up a time to come visit soon."

Maxon was pacing as I said my goodbyes. When I finally got to him, he put his hand on my back and ushered me back through the house to the car that was waiting. Once inside and speeding away from the house I asked, "So? Where'd they find them?"

"A Southern rebel base camp. There was about thirty in a warehouse, malnourished and from the looks of it tortured. They are being taken to a fort to get medical treatment in the province." Maxon wasn't looking at me even though I desperately wanted him to.

A chill went up my spine. "What else?"

He hesitated before answering, "There was a mass grave nearby. They found it this morning; they're still pulling bodies out now."

Now I had to look away. This was too much. Maxon and I were barely adults; how were we supposed to deal with all of this? How was I supposed to deal with this with no training? Maxon must have been thinking the same thing because next he said, "I don't know what to do America."

I looked over at him and saw that he was still staring out the window but I knew that he wasn't really looking at the landscape outside. "We'll memorialize them," I said quietly. "They lost their lives to the rebels, just like Celeste and your parents. Tomorrow night on the _Report _we'll do something that will honor all of the lives that were lost." I paused and he didn't respond so I went on. "We'll give the soldiers' families bonuses for the next few months until they can get sorted. We'll keep the public kitchens open for another few months. We can straighten all of this out."

He was quiet and I knew he was just collecting his thoughts. "How long have you been thinking of all of that?" he finally asked, looking over at me with amazement in his eyes.

"Silvia and I have been discussing it amidst our planning for the service on Saturday." I reached for his hand and he gladly took it.

He shook his head. "You're amazing," he sighed.

"I know." I smiled and looked down at our joined hands. He was playing with my ring, a small smile playing at his lips.

"I'm sorry our time with your family got cut short. I should probably forewarn you that visits will probably be few and far between," he said and I detected a hint of sadness in his voice.

I nodded. "I figured. But that's what phones are for. And we don't always have to visit them; the road goes both ways."

He laughed and lifted his hand to swipe it down my cheek. "Are you sure you want to do the _Report _tomorrow night? I understand if you don't because it'll be a lot to go through and a lot of unpleasant details to share…"

I leaned over and kissed his cheek to silence him. "I knew what I signed up for when you gave me this ring Maxon. I'm queen now and the people need to see that I'm ready to take all of this on. No matter what, I will stand by you."

The next night, I was again reminded of how drastically everything had changed in the last week. Over the course of the last couple days I learned that there were very few rooms left untouched by the rebels. The room the _Report_ is filmed in was one of the rooms prioritized as the most important for cleanup.

I walked on to set with Maxon and it was just us, Gavril and Stavros on set. There were no other Selected girls, King Clarkson and Queen Amberly weren't there, and it seemed like there were even less camera men – much to my relief. Mary touched up my makeup as another maid fixed Maxon's. "I suppose I ought to choose another maid," I said to her.

Mary looked at me with sad eyes. "You'll need to choose more anyway. Being queen means more responsibilities and with more responsibilities comes more maids."

"Do you have any friends you'd like to work with?"

"My lady, no offense, but my opinion doesn't exactly matter," she told me, her voice implying that it should have been obvious.

I huffed. "Well it does to me. Why don't you and Lucy put together a list and get back to me in a couple days?" I thought I saw tears glisten in Mary's eyes but she quickly righted herself if there were.

She nodded. "We'll get right on it."

Maxon came over and put an arm around my waist. He had taken off his sling for tonight, something Dr. Ashlar and I both had argued with him about all day but knowing how difficult tonight was going to be for him, I let it go quickly and advised Dr. Ashlar to do the same. I wanted Maxon to be as comfortable as possible with tonight.

Even now, as he was taking in my face, I could see that he was nervous. I knew he had practiced his speech all day with my perching on his desk. He had only made it through once without having to stop himself. I offered to do it for him but he said no; we both knew that he had to do this himself.

Gavril entered, not his usual bubbly self but tonight, nobody was. He shook Maxon's hand and gave me a quick hug as he put his microphone on. "Are you two ready?" he asked us. We both nodded and Maxon's arm around my waist tightened. "Okay, so I'm going to interview Princess America before we do anything else, just to get that aired out. Then we can move on to everything else. Sound like a plan?"

"Yep," I said, looking up at Maxon nervously. I just wanted to get all of this over and done with for his sake.

Gavril nodded at us one last time and went up on stage as Maxon and I took our seats. He had his speech in his lap and was reading it over again. I put my hand on his and waited for him to look up at me before I spoke. "Maxon, you'll be okay. I'm right here."

"What if I can't do it Mer?" he asked and I smiled at the nickname. I had been secretly hoping he would learn to call me that.

"You can do this. I love you, Max," I told him, kissing him on the cheek quickly as the cameras started turning on. Then we were given the signal to be quiet and Maxon put his speech back in the pocket of his suit coat.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Illéa!" Gavril greeted, not being as flamboyant as he normally was. But the country surely understood that this was a more somber occasion. "First and foremost, I must thank all of you for waiting for tonight and joining us here; we know that details of the happenings here in the palace this past week are fuzzy and we will be clearing them up for you all to the best of our abilities.

"First, though, we have extremely exciting news! Tonight, we have with us, the new princess of Illéa, the newest addition to the Schreave royal family, and most importantly, our prince's choice for his wife! Are you all ready?" He paused dramatically. My stomach felt as knotted as a circus contortionist. Maxon squeezed my hand, sensing my nerves. "Everyone, please welcome to the stage, America Singer, Princess of Illéa!" The crew clapped as I stood and walked up to take a seat across from Gravril. He smiled at me encouragingly. "Thank you for joining us here Princess."

I blushed and tried to ignore all of the cameras pointing right at me. I tried to seek out Maxon but the lights were too blinding. "It's my pleasure Gavril. You didn't really think I would miss this, did you?"

"Well I know you're not one for being the center of attention," he told me. I couldn't help but smile at his quip. Gavril and I had bonded so much over the last few days that I understood why he was always around; his personality was so warm and welcoming that he always brightened the mood. "Now, Princess America, what's it like, knowing you're engaged to _Maxon_?" he asked, pointedly leaving off Maxon's title as a joke between the three of us.

This was an easy question but at the same time so difficult. How could I do my feelings justice? "It's indescribable, Gavril. Maxon and I are extremely happy."

"Even with all of this going on in the palace?" I also now knew that Gavril already knew most of the answers to the questions he asked because he was around all the time.

I nodded. "I think that's what makes the two of us work so well together. Throughout the Selection we had a lot working against us yet we have always made it through those rough times. I dare say that we were well prepared for whatever adversity we've been facing. I think our temperaments make it very easy for us to get along despite what's happening around us."

"Sounds like love to me folks!" Gavril exclaimed. "How did your family react to you two being engaged? I know your father passed away a couple weeks ago so this must be a difficult time for your family especially."

"My father did pass away, just a couple days before Christmas," I confirmed to the audience, speaking past the lump that formed in my throat. I paused to take a couple breaths before I could lose it. I saw movements in the line of the stage lights and Maxon emerged from the shadows, standing just barely in the light so I could see him. He smiled at me and I held his gaze as I went on, "My sister just had a baby though so we are still celebrating that and this news just added to that joy. We were able to visit my family yesterday actually and they welcomed Maxon with open arms. Not that it's any surprise; who wouldn't be excited for Maxon to join their family?" I joked, trying to ease my nerves.

Maxon suddenly came on to stage and sat down next to me, surprising both of us. I guess he was just so nervous he needed to be next to me. "Mind if I join you both?" he asked as he sat down, putting an arm across the back of the couch and around me.

Gavril laughed. "Do we have a choice?" he asked. Maxon shook his head with a smile and Gavril laughed again, looking at both of us. "Maxon, how are you feeling about your engagement?"

"I've been waiting my entire life to find my wife and I could not have chosen anyone better than America," he admitted. "I knew it was her from the moment she yelled at me. I just had to convince her." He smiled at me and I could feel both of us relaxing for just a moment as we got lost in each other's eyes.

"Well, I know I speak for most of Illéa when I say that I am thoroughly excited for your wedding. Any ideas for that yet?" he asked, leaning toward us.

I waved a hand. "We're not quite there yet. I would like to get settled here before we start setting anything in stone."

"Absolutely. We want to just enjoy being engaged and we don't want to rush into anything. Just don't make me too long, okay?" Maxon asked me.

"I won't," I promised. I liked this candid version of us but I knew that as soon as this interview was over we would be a very different couple.

Gavril sighed. "I think that's it for tonight, you two! There are more pressing matters at hand, after all. One of your advisers is waiting to make his announcement so let us hear from Stavros!" Gavril waved a hand to welcome Stavros who was standing at a podium, speech in hand. The cameras turned to him and we were left in the dark. Gavril quickly left to go get something from a maid standing off to the side.

"You'll be fine," I assured Maxon as I straightened his tie.

He nodded and held my hands against his chest. "You'll be with me?"

"Always," I told him, my voice serious as Stavros concluded his speech and welcomed Maxon up to the podium.

We both walked into the blinding light and I held my breath as Maxon arranged his speech in front of him. He clasped one hand against the podium and started reciting, "Ladies and gentlemen of Illéa, I stand before you all tonight as King and I know that you all have questions. I hope Stavros explained the details to you all well enough but the time has come where I address what you are all probably wondering: what happens now?

"I know that this is a very sudden and very tragic event. I know that it must seem like I am probably not prepared to be king, especially with the Selection being one of my main focuses for the past five months but I am completely committed to this country. I have developed a very strong bond with this land over these last few weeks and that is mainly thanks to the beautiful woman standing beside me." He paused because the next part of his speech was the hardest. "My parents had an incredible vision for Illéa, a vision that ended quickly and violently. Their loss has changed my life, for better and for worse, and I wish more than anything that I didn't have to stand before you saying all of this.

"America has bravely accepted the duty of becoming queen while I have been left with the responsibility to lead this country with very little help and training. These next few months won't be easy but don't lose faith; while it may look like we are lost we have a strong team of advisers behind us encouraging us and that is all I ask of you, our people. Change is coming and with your cooperation, Illéa will prosper and rise." He bowed his head quickly, shuffling the papers in front of him. "Thank you," he concluded, putting his hand on my back to usher me off stage.

Gavril signed off for the night and we went back to our room. Maxon tugged on his tie as he sat down on his bed, putting his hands on the edges next to him. I knew his shoulder was probably killing him but I didn't want to pester him about it now. I sat down next to him, playing with the heel of my shoe.

"So that's that then?" I asked him quietly.

He nodded. I got ready for bed, dressing in a light nightgown and crawling into bed next to him. He simply stripped down to his underwear and laid down, his stomach pressed to my back. He didn't sleep well that night and I knew that the next day and night would be no better. I woke up the next morning and I don't know what I was expecting – people running amok in the palace with pitchforks demanding to see Maxon and I, a new rebel army standing outside the palace gates, bombs from New Asia raining down on us – but I wasn't expecting for Maxon to come jumping into bed, newspaper in hand.

"America, look at this!" he exclaimed, enthusiasm blazing in his brown eyes.

I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes. He leaned on his arm behind me and rested his head against my shoulder as I looked at the front page. A smile crept on my face as I read the headline.

_The King and Queen We've Been Waiting For: Long Live King Maxon. Long Live Queen America._


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter picks up where the last one leaves off :)**

* * *

_"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it." - William Shakespeare_

* * *

I nodded, slipping out of his bed. "I need to start getting ready. You okay here?"

He sighed and a ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "You don't need to worry about me America." I walked to the door connecting our suites, turning back to look at him one last time. He looked defeated but I knew he was just getting it all out of his system now before he had to face the people. He had to be strong for them.

I couldn't pretend to know what he was feeling. He had told me that though he didn't necessarily like his father, he didn't want his father to die. My relationship with my father was filled with love and companionship whereas his was plagued with fear and abandonment. The death of his mother pained him but the death of his father…it aged him beyond his youthful nineteen years of age, it matured him past the point of return. I could already see the subtle changes that just came with the territory of being king. They weren't necessarily bad but I was starting to get scared that he would lose himself under the oncoming onslaught of responsibilities. I was scared he would retreat to that dark place again and I wouldn't be able to call him back.

Mary had my black dress waiting for me in the bathroom once I had gotten my bath and done my hair. It was simple: knee-length, a-line with triangular cut-outs at the neckline that added a subtle flair to the design. It made me sick to remember my last time wearing a black dress in the palace. I quickly pushed the thought back to my mind as I reminded myself of the conversation Maxon and I had already had concerning Marlee and Carter's future places in the palace.

"Where's Lucy?" I asked Mary, racking my mind to remember if she had said she'd be missing.

"Officer Leger had a surgery this morning for his leg, I believe. She was here to get everything set out for you but as soon as he was moved into recovery she went down to meet him. I assured her that I would be fine here," Mary explained simply.

I nodded, retaining that information. I was sad at how little concern I felt for Aspen. It was no longer my place to be scared for him but I didn't expect for my feelings for him to fade so quickly. I smiled though when I thought of a certain blonde in the room next door that would be my husband in the coming year or so. "Have you thought of anyone for me to hire as another maid yet?" I asked her gently, not wanting to reopen any healed wounds.

She sighed quietly. "There are a few but I'm not sure if they want the job because they really want it or because they want to work with the queen." She paused. "I am glad you asked me though because I wouldn't want you hiring just anybody."

"Me neither," I told her as I felt her slide the last pin into my hair. I glanced in the mirror at my make-up one last time and then walked back to Maxon's room. He was in his closet, standing in front of a mirror as a man tied his tie for him.

I blushed and stood in the doorway as Maxon caught sight of me loitering. He tugged on the sleeves of his shirt and said, "That'll be all I need Benjamin, thank you." The man bowed deeply at him first and then to me before leaving the room.

Maxon reached for his cufflinks and put them on with dexterous fingers, years of practice making it easy for him to put them on with one hand. He sighed and put on his suit coat, facing me. "You look great," I told him, smiling with some assurance.

He didn't look convinced but still nodded. "Thank you. As do you." He put his arm through mine and guided me down to the Great Room where the memorial service was being held. I held my breath, awaiting his reaction to all of my planning. He nodded, as if making his mind up about something before looking at me. "You did well," he complimented simply.

Because he was king now, we had to wait outside as our guests trickled in another entrance, all of them getting completely searched before coming inside. Some looked wary and I knew that they must have been here during the attack but others looked to overcome with grief to really care about the minor invasion of privacy inflicted upon them by the guards.

I started to wonder how many of these women I was seeing were members of the queen's Selection or even members of Maxon's extended family. I remembered some brief mention of Maxon's family in another country but I couldn't recall which country and what their position was there. I didn't think today was the day I was going to learn all of that though. I was confused over why Silvia hadn't taught me about them yet, though.

I craned my neck to get a better look at the people gathered inside, just to see if I knew anyone inside. Sure enough, a familiar pair of dark eyes met mine through the crack in the door I was standing behind. I waved to Elise, surprised to see that she was still here. But then I saw some of the other girls; Natalie, Tiny, Olivia, Tuesday, and Kriss. She had come back to the palace for this. I invited all of the surviving girls of the Selection but I never dreamt that any of them would actually show. Especially Kriss. She seemed to be avoiding looking in the direction of the door, unlike the other girls around her who kept pointing.

Remembering my poor fiancé standing next to me, I turned to him and said, "I hope you don't mind that I invited them."

He surprised me by smiling at me. "My mother told me that these girls mean a lot to you – they did for her. I can't fault you for wanting your friends close by." He paused, seeming to finally sense what I was trying to tell him before. "Oh. America, you are my choice and I couldn't be happier with it. If I wanted to marry any of the other girls, they would be standing here with me right now, okay? But I know that I don't want anyone else by my side today; I don't need anyone else by my side today."

I nodded and stood on my toes to give him a quick kiss as Gavril went on stage and told everyone to take their seats. "Ladies and gentlemen, please rise in welcome of King Maxon and Lady America Singer," he called, keeping his voice somber for the occasion. Though people had been calling me princess for days, I was still just Lady America. I wouldn't be princess until my coronation where I would actually become queen, skipping the princess stage altogether.

The doors in front of us opened completely and Maxon and I walked in, our arms linked. There were two chairs open in the front row just for us. It felt strange to be in a setting where Maxon wasn't set aside but Silvia told me that funerals and memorial services were not the place for making a show out of Ones.

Everyone sat down around us and as the service got under way, I no longer cared that I didn't know half of the people in the room. I no longer cared that Maxon and I literally had the weight of the world coming down on our shoulders. I just focused on the feel of his right hand clasped tightly in my left and keeping my tears at bay. The service was strangely similar to my father's. A brief biography was given, followed by a eulogy, with no opportunity for anyone else to speak.

It was peculiar to be divided into castes in life but then in death we were all the same. We were all loved and missed and we all had people that would miss us. We were all leaving something behind. My father left behind my family. Maxon's parents left him behind with a country to deal with.

Immediately following the service, Maxon and I were taken down to the basement of the palace where his parents would be buried. In the catacombs, there were reserved spots for everyone in the royal family. It was a bizarre sort of family tree. I walked past Gregory Illéa's final resting place and my new position in life seemed to get that much more real at the evidence of his life and what he had left behind.

The ornately carved caskets were waiting for us when we got there. Adele and her husband and eldest children came with us so we weren't alone and so that they too could grieve in some relative privacy. I couldn't help but notice the two spots beside the king and queen's; one with Maxon's name on it and his birth year and another with a blank plaque that would someday hold my name. I was barely engaged to Maxon. Seeing the holes reserved to be our final resting place seemed like too much for the time.

A priest sang a Latin prayer and blessed the caskets as they slid into the stone wall with resounding thuds. Guards saluted and then bolted them in. I blinked back the tears in mine and wrapped an arm around Maxon's waist as he put his arm around my shoulder. He wiped his own tears away with the back of his hand and shook his head as people slowly filed back upstairs for the small reception waiting for family members.

We were alone for a long time as I held on to Maxon down in the basement of our home. This was the last time he would see his parents. I finally looked up at Maxon and saw that he was no longer crying. The watch on his wrist told me that we had been down there for twenty minutes. "Maxon, we should go up and talk to our guests."

He frowned. "I have work to do. I'm still trying to sort through everything my father left me to do."

I paused, about to argue but I knew the last thing he needed at that point was a fight with me. "Okay," I relented. We slowly turned away and made our way up stairs, parting ways outside the music room. I walked in and fear swelled within me. I was in a room of mostly strangers. How was I supposed to be a hostess to these people?

Adele was my hero as she walked up to me and embraced me right away. "I don't know how to thank you for supporting my nephew," she said quietly, pulling away just to hold on to my hands. "You are just what he needs in this dark time."

"I am very sorry for the loss of your sister," I consoled respectfully, sensing that she and Amberly must have been close.

Adele nodded and one of her children ran up behind her. He must have been eight years old and I was freshly amazed at the vibrance of Adele's family as opposed to Queen Amberly's. "Lady America, this is my youngest, Coates," she introduced briefly, urging her son toward me.

I crouched down and smiled at him. "Hi Coates, I'm Lady America but you can just call me Ames."

He nodded shyly and then ran away. Adele smiled grimly at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Tell that fiancé of yours that I want a proper visit from him before we leave and remind him that yes, he is busy, but there are some cousins that would love to see him."

I nodded. "I will," I promised. I warmed at the thought of Maxon being so desired among these kids and suddenly couldn't wait for the day he would be that way with our children. Elise and Kriss then approached me and Elise wrapped me in a warm hug, surprising me. She was always so reserved. "Thank you for coming," I told them both genuinely.

Kriss nodded and looked at Elise nervously before looking back to me. "America, I just want to congratulate you. I don't want things to be awkward between us or anything. Obviously I was upset the morning after the attack and I just wanted to leave before Maxon could tell me what I already knew; that you are his pick."

I hugged Kriss suddenly, surprising her. "I'm just sorry with the way it all ended Kriss. I was so rude to you the day I came back when we should have been better friends than ever."

"Well, America, I feel like I should tell you that I knew Maxon was going to propose to me that night of the rebel attack…and I was planning on saying no. I wasn't about to marry him because he couldn't have you."

I would have never guessed she would do that. "Kriss, you love Maxon…" I started but I had no idea what else to say.

Either way, she held up a hand to stop me. "I do. But you're in love with Maxon and he's in love with you. He would never be happy with me like he is with you. Especially with the way he was picking me. He was angry and heartbroken; he wasn't thinking rationally. I'm sure that within weeks he would be miserable because of his choice."

I nodded, part of me still scared of that side of Maxon I was exposed to. It was the Maxon raised in isolation in the midst of violence and aggression. I wasn't entirely convinced of what she was saying – Maxon would have stood by his choice no matter what – but I was flattered by her words. "Thanks so much Kriss."

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" I nodded in response and she walked away, leaving just me and Elise.

"Have you talked to the Newsomes yet?" she asked me.

I shook my head sadly. "But Maxon has, offering his sincerest apologies. We would visit them but if we visit them we have to visit everyone and we just don't have the time. Things are kind of crazy here right now."

Elise squeezed my shoulder sympathetically. "How's Maxon doing?"

I shrugged. "He's had better days," I answered vaguely, not wanting to disclose every dirty detail of the past week. "We both had but I guess it's almost a blessing in disguise that I lost my father a couple weeks ago because it means that we can grieve together."

"Well," Elise sighed, "you can call me anytime too. Us Elite need to stick together." She nudged me with her elbow and winked.

I smiled and looked around the room again, seeing that there were even more strangers here than I originally thought. It brought back painful memories of my own father's service where I didn't know half the people in attendance. Silvia, who had been floating around making sure that everything was running smoothly, approached me and said, "If you want to go spend time with your fiancé, I think everything is under control here."

"But our guests…"

"Will understand," she finished for me. "You two have been through a lot; I think everyone here wants you two to have a break before you really need to get to work."

I nodded and I didn't need to be told twice. I practically ran upstairs to Maxon's study and walked through, the guards bowing simply to me. I was finally starting to get used to the attention to the point where I barely noticed them.

Maxon was surprisingly alone in his study and he didn't appear to really be working. He was sitting in his big chair staring at a picture on his desk and I guessed it was one of his parents. I walked up behind him and perched on the arm of his chair, following his gaze to a picture of his mom and dad from a long time ago. They both looked young and with a heavy heart I realized it was a picture from their wedding.

"I don't have any family left," he whispered miserably.

I put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed his uninjured one. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you're actually wrong. You have me and you have my family."

He shook his head. "Does it stop hurting?"

"I'll let you know when it does." I put my face in his hair and breathed in the smell of his shampoo, so different from the smell of Aspen's homemade soap. "I love you," I breathed out, my voice muffled by his honey strands.

He nodded. "I love you too."

* * *

With the memorial service and the tumultuous first week after the attack behind us, the palace was able to settle into a new kind of normalcy. I could tell that Maxon was still trying to adjust to not having his parents around and with the last of the Selected leaving over the next few days, I started wondering what we were going to do when it was just the two of us. Surprisingly, it was Elise who was the last to leave.

"Please, feel free to call me whenever you need me," Elise reminded me as she hugged me goodbye. It felt strange seeing the girls go home. I felt like I would be going home too until I remembered that this was my new home.

There was no doubt in my mind that I would talk to Elise at least once-a-week. "Of course! As long as you promise to come to everything I invite you to! I need someone in my corner for these next few events," I said, my stomach churning at the thought of having to sell myself to all of these Ones that would be passing through our doors over the next few months.

She rolled her eyes. "You'll be fine. Maxon won't let you fall," she assured me. Her eyes flicked to the top of the staircase. "Speak of the devil…" she mumbled with a small smile.

I turned and saw Maxon descending them quickly. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of him, his hair bouncing as he basically ran down the steps, the sparkle in his eyes when they met mine…I still had trouble remembering in the morning that I was actually going to marry this man. When he got to us he wrapped Elise in a hug and whispered something in her ear that I didn't quite catch.

Whatever it was, it made her laugh. "Don't worry, I will."

"What?" I asked as Maxon stepped back to my side and put an arm around my shoulders.

Elise smiled mischievously. "It's a secret."

I rolled my eyes and turned to Maxon. "I do not like surprises. How many times do we have to go over this?"

He nodded and pretty much ignored me. "Please, Elise, don't be a stranger."

"Your girl here will make sure that never happens," she told him. A guard approached her and opened the big door behind her. "I guess this is it. Thank you, for everything," she said genuinely to both of us. Then she smiled and waved one last time before heading outside into the brilliant sunlight.

The bang of the door closing echoed through me and I realized that we were alone. It was just Maxon and I in this big palace. Well, not really, but I didn't have any of my friends with me and his family wasn't around to interrupt us on anything.

He must have been thinking the same thing because he looked down at me and said, "What do you say we find a safe room and make out?" He pressed his forehead to mine and I could feel his lips brush my chin.

"I'd love to, but I have a very important meeting to attend as do you, mister." I pulled away playfully, entwining my fingers with his.

He frowned. "Which meeting?"

"The wedding meeting," I told him slowly. "Did you forget?"

He looked horrified for a few seconds until he smiled brightly and shook his head. "No, I didn't forget." He held on to my hand as we walked upstairs to where we would be meeting Silvia, Stavros, Marlee, Mary, Lucy and some others who would be helping to plan the meeting.

The wing where the royal family's suites were set up also consisted of five conference rooms, all various sizes and all reserved for different purposes. The king and queen had their own conference rooms and then there was a military and strategizing room, a negotiation room, and another room for miscellaneous things. They all had similar setups despite the variation in sizes: a long, wooden table with seats on both sides and two chairs at one end of the table for the king and queen…Maxon and I.

As we walked in, everyone stood and bowed, something I wasn't quite used to yet. We took our seats, followed by everyone else. Silvia, who was seated closest to us, leaned forward with a bright smile. "Well, here we are with another royal wedding to plan. The first thing we have to decide is when you will be having the wedding. It is probably the most important aspect of it. It is the day you'll celebrate for the rest of your lives and will also be the day of your coronation due to the insinuating circumstances. Your Majesty, your parents had a fall wedding, as you know. Would you like to follow suit?" She looked at us expectantly.

Maxon and I exchanged a sheepish look, probably because we were both realizing that we had not talked about our wedding at all in the last week and a half. "Well…" I began hesitantly. I hoped we were both still thinking along the same lines. "I really like spring time."

He nodded. "I do as well," he agreed, looking back to Silvia.

"So, which month then?"

"May?" I asked, looking at Maxon again. He smiled and relaxed a bit, as if telling me to make all of the decisions. "May twenty-eighth?"

Silvia looked at the calendar in front of her and looked up at me frowning, "Princess, no offense, but weddings are typically on Fridays here, not Saturdays."

"It is a Friday," I said, confused.

Maxon sat up straighter, looking at me with a strange look. "You mean, this May?" he asked, voicing the question that was probably running through everyone's heads. "As in, five months from now?"

I nodded slowly, not sure why everyone wasn't catching on. "I've seen what the staff can do on two days' notice. Five months should be plenty of time. Besides, next May is too far away." I looked over at Maxon, hoping he'd understand that at least.

He smiled and shook his head. "May twenty-eighth sounds perfect," he said, not taking his eyes off of me. "What's next Silvia?" he asked, finally looking away from me to Silvia.

I risked a glance over at Marlee. She shook her head at me and winked.

Maxon and I went back to his study after the meeting, both of us feeling pretty confident about what we had gotten done. "So now we just need to decide on flowers, cake flavor and I have to get my dress done," I listed as I perched on the arm of a chair by his desk.

He nodded and smiled at me. "Are you hungry?" he asked, checking his watch.

"Starved. I'm sure dinner is ready, so do you want to head down to the dining room?" I asked him.

He froze, looking up at my before shaking himself out of it and returning his attention to the paper in front of him. "I figured we would eat up here. You know, it's cozier and then it gives the maids a break from having to get the dining room ready for us and everything."

I frowned, not understanding this reaction. We had been eating there for the last week or so with all of our guests, why didn't he want to eat in there now? The answer came to me as quickly as the question. It would be his first time eating in there without his parents. I was trying to push the grieving process along for him but this seemed like something I shouldn't argue. "Yeah, we can eat up here I guess." An idea popped in my head and I felt like it would be just the thing to make him feel better. "How about we both change into our pajamas and eat in your bedroom? We'll order breakfast food and have breakfast for dinner. Like breakfast in bed!"

He laughed and then looked up at me, obviously thinking I was kidding. "You're serious?"

"Yeah! My mom would always serve breakfast for dinner as a special treat for us whenever we were in a rough patch. It always brightened the mood."

He smiled and nodded slowly. "Okay. Then do you mind pushing it back a couple hours? Just so I can get some work done and spend the rest of the night in bed?"

"Sure," I agreed. "One of those things, I think, should be that meeting we've been meaning to have."

"Way ahead of you; they're on their way here now."

I clapped my hands enthusiastically as the doors to the study opened and a guard announced, "Mrs. Marlee Woodwork and Mr. Carter Woodwork."

Maxon and I shared a knowing look as Marlee and Carter walked in, both still in their nicer uniforms from the meeting. I patted Maxon's hand, telling him to go ahead and start talking. "Well, America and I have been talking about how we need to hire some new people. You know, new regime; new advisers. With that said, America is looking for an additional maid and I am as well so we would like you two to become two of our personal attendants."

Marlee's mouth fell open and Carter looked between Maxon and I like we were crazy. "And you would be doing this as Marlee and Carter, not Mallory and Calvin."

Carter slowly smiled and looked at Marlee before turning back to us. "This is…this is more than we could ever ask for."

I smiled at Maxon, knowing we had made the right decision. "Well good thing you're not asking; we're telling."

"Are you both serious?" Marlee asked, gripping the arms of the chair she was sitting in.

"We understand if you two need to time to talk it over; it'd be a big change for you both. You know, better salaries, personal living quarters on the fourth floor, spending most of your time with us…it's a lot to consider."

Marlee sprung out of her chair. "There's nothing to consider, we'll do it!"

Carter laughed at her as she ran around the desk to hug me. Maxon walked over to her husband and shook his hand. Carter still looked shell-shocked as Marlee turned to hug Maxon and I hugged Carter. "This is wonderful!" he exclaimed, eventually reigning Marlee in and taking her hand. "Thank you both so much."

We both smiled at them as Maxon answered, "It's our pleasure."

Later that night, Maxon and I were in bed with the breakfast tray cast aside, crumbs being the only thing left on it. We were in the middle of an aggressive thumb war when Maxon asked, "So how did this whole breakfast for dinner thing start in the Singer house?"

I smiled to myself at the fond memory, concentrating on keeping my thumb from being trapped underneath his. "It was just after a bad Christmas for us. Gerad was just a baby and with Mom having to take care of him day and night, we hadn't been able to take in as much money. I mean, I was only getting to the age where I could perform and May definitely wasn't there yet; she was only seven. And on top of all of that, my grandfather had just died from a heart attack."

I stopped, pain tugging at my heart. I shook my head and continued, "Dad and I were in charge of cooking dinner and when we looked in our refrigerator, we noticed that soon everything would be spoiled so we decided that we had to do something with the milk and the eggs. He suggested that we make pancakes and eggs for dinner. It sounded ludicrous but fun so we started making the batter for pancakes and Dad was just making a mess; he was never a good cook. We were yelling and laughing and eventually Kenna and Kota noticed and came out to join us.

"Kota kept dropping the eggs on the floor and Kenna was getting flour everywhere. It was easy for us to forget about the fact that we were freezing and barely had any presents for Christmas…by the time we were done cooking we had wasted so much food and we all expected Mom to be mad but she just laughed at the mess and kissed my dad. From then on, whenever things got bad, it was Mom and Dad's quickest solution to everything." As I came out of the memory, I noticed that our thumbs had stopped moving. "I know it sounds silly…"

Maxon cut me off. "It sounds wonderful. That's the kind of thing I wished I could have had with my family."

"Surely there were times where you all had fun together."

His eyes rolled from me to a corner of the room as he thought about it. "Okay, there was this one time…Daphne and her family were visiting and Father was always more civil when we had guests, even pleasant at times. I was still young, probably a teenager. Well, Daphne and I ran out into the gardens and she dared me to climb to the top of this big apple tree we have. I told her that we should race. Not surprisingly, I won and made it to the top before her but when I looked down I saw that she was on the ground, crying.

"Me being the hero, I slid down the tree and checked on her. She had cut her arm on the bark and it was bleeding so I took her back to our parents and her mom and dad flipped out. I was expecting for my father to do the same but he just laughed. I was so shocked and I think Mom was too that he was actually not upset about it all. He just brushed it off that we were being kids. Meanwhile, Daphne's mother was running around yelling about antibiotics and tetanus shots even though it was barely a scrape and by then it had stopped bleeding. We laughed about it for days." He laughed and smiled at the memory. "It's one of the last times I remember being happy with my parents."

Regret leaked into his voice and I rubbed my thumb over his hand gently, abandoning the game to comfort him. "Do you have any other stories?" I asked, genuinely curious. I never really cared about the royal family when I was little and paid little attention to them whenever they were in the news.

With that, Maxon started regaling me with tales from his childhood. The story of him getting a puppy for his seventh birthday and naming it Kibbles and how apparently it wreaked havoc in the palace for the ten years it was alive. The story of him accidentally setting his mom's favorite book on fire because he was seeing if leather did indeed burn. The story of him almost burning the palace to the ground because he wanted to make his parents breakfast in bed for their anniversary. All of the stories were happy and full of mischief and I wondered how he had ended up here, alone and abused by his father.

As the night went on, the stories grew more serious. I started contributing by telling him about times when my father got into arguments with Twos because they insisted that he did a poor job or when Kota would steal all of my father's clay as a child, just to make tiny figurines for a girl he liked in town. Then I started telling him about winters we spent in the dark or in the cold. Vacations that were promised but never happened. Hunger that threatened to overwhelm of us in the heat of summer. The hurricane that came through one fall and flooded half of my house.

Maxon started opening up more too. Eventually, his stories shifted to his relationship with his father. "I spent the summer of my twelfth birthday in France with Daphne's family and when I got home, things were different. My father was suddenly holding me accountable for so much more than my schoolwork. He started giving me more responsibilities and taking me to his meetings. He was stricter, more rigid and callous.

"He had always been a firm believer in spanking because his parents were. I didn't really think much of it when he started hitting me again. It was when he got more violent that I started getting scared." He shook his head and took a deep breath, looking down at his lap. "I was thirteen, the first time he caned me. I didn't see it coming at all. He simply called me into his study in a few days after Christmas and said that he was disappointed for the way I had been acting with my cousins. I wasn't supposed to play with them and I had also accidentally let it slip about a new finance plan we were putting into place.

"I was so shocked after it happened but for some reason I couldn't tell anyone. I felt like if I told anyone, he would just retaliate even more. I also knew that if I just acted like nothing happened, he would too. So I went on, keeping it a secret. The first few times it was really hard and my wounds healed slowly because I didn't know how to really treat them. It got better with practice." He laughed darkly.

I was cold, listening to his confession. Goose bumps covered my arms and legs underneath my robe. I slowly shook my head. "I don't blame you for not telling anyone. You were doing what you thought was best."

He sighed. "Honestly, there were times where I considered sending you home because I was scared of what my father could do to you but I could never think of any other excuse. That was one of many indications that you were definitely the one for me; I didn't feel the need to protect any of the girls like I did with you. Granted, they didn't put themselves out there quite like you did but I don't know. I wasn't about to send one of them home because I feared their safety."

"You were probably relieved when I found out then."

He shrugged. "More or less. I at least knew then that I could avoid an awkward conversation with you before our wedding night but I was also more fearful of the fact that if my father found out that you knew…he probably would have killed you and put me as close to death as possible. Things would have gotten very bad for the both of us."

I brought my knees up close to my chest and played with a loose string in the quilt on his bed. I couldn't imagine that state of living in constant fear of my own father. I tried to put myself in his shoes and it left me with a sinking feeling in my stomach. "You're safe now," I whispered, begging for him to look at me.

"By default," he added quietly. He shook his head. "So now you know all of it."

"Thank you for telling me."

He shrugged again. "I don't want any more secrets between the two of us," he explained shortly. I didn't miss the hint of doubt in his voice and what he was implying. "America, you have my heart, you know that. If there's anything else you need to tell me, now is the time. Nothing you say will make me not love you."

It felt like a rock settled in my stomach. With my secret about Aspen out in the open, I knew we would eventually have to have this conversation. And there was also the secret about my father… "Maxon, if I could go back and tell you about Aspen on my first day here, I would."

"It's water under the bridge now. I happened to hear that he is rather smitten with your maid Lucy so I'll be willing to give him a chance as a friend." I looked up at him at that, shocked that he had decided that. "We've been looking for someone new for being the head of security and I'm sure that with a extra little grooming, he would be just right for the job. Seeing as he can't be a real guard now."

"Really?" I asked, not believing what he was saying.

Maxon smiled sideways. "He's obviously very loyal and that's something I look for in my personal staff."

I threw my arms around him. I couldn't believe it; I didn't have to lose my best friend after all. Aspen would be right here in the palace all the time now. "Thank you so much," I squealed into the skin of his neck.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me away enough to lean down to kiss me. "I love you. I want you comfortable here."

"All I need for that is you," I told him, looking up into his warm brown eyes. He flipped us so that he was hovering over me on his bed, kissing my neck. I groaned and moved my hands to the hem of his shirt, pulling it off.

He buried his head in my cleavage and sighed. "Thank the lord our wedding is this may. I don't know how I would be able to wait a year and a half for you."

I smiled at his words and then sucked in a breath as he trailed kisses down my stomach. "Me neither."

**Just a fluffy chapter, tying up some loose ends before I start jumping ahead in time. Thanks kingsofsummer01 for the awesome review! don't forget that you guys can send me some ideas of stuff you want to see as a one-shot and i'll most likely do it (leave the unicorns at home, folks). I'm done school so I should be updating again soon. and if you guys are reading Taking the One, I haven't stopped posting; I've just been super busy! don't lose faith!**

**anyway, reviews would wonderful!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I have been so excited to write this chapter! this idea has been in my head basically since I finished the series. you'll figure out pretty fast what's going on. :) oh, and just as a warning, I am leaving on Saturday for a mission trip and I won't be back until next Saturday. it's kind of an internship so I'm going to be pretty darn busy. I probably won't update for another two weeks but i'll get as much writing done as possible next week. thanks so much for the positive feedback guys! keep it coming!**

* * *

_"We all romanticize the people we adore." - John Green_

* * *

I woke up one morning, feeling strangely rested. Upon opening my eyes, I realized that the late morning sun was spilling through the windows and on to the bed, which is how I woke up. Maxon wasn't beside me but I had gotten used to waking up without him on some mornings. I brushed it off, content with getting another couple hours of sleep until I realized that it was the late morning sun and I never slept this late. I sat straight up, noticing a pile of presents on my legs.

I rubbed my eyes. For the first time in my life, I had completely forgotten about my birthday. The door to our bedroom swung open and Maxon strolled through unceremoniously. "Happy birthday!" he shouted as he walked to the balcony and threw open the doors to let fresh air in. I laughed at him. "So I was thinking, today is your eighteenth birthday which is actually a pretty insignificant birthday but it is significant for me because it is your first birthday that I get to spend with you. However, I can't help but feel a little cheated for not getting to celebrate the seventeen birthdays prior to this one."

"You weren't around…" I began but he held up a finger to stop me as he continued to pace around our bed.

"So, to make up for that, I have decided that I am going to give you a present for every birthday I missed, excluding this one because I am very much here for it." He sat down on the bed and crawled over to meet me. "To start things off, here are your first three."

I rolled my eyes at his goofy smile, reaching for the first present. "Maxon Schreave, I believe you are spoiling me."

He considered my statement and then shook his head. "No, I think you will find that you secretly wanted all of these presents."

"How long have you been planning this?" I suddenly asked, pausing in my efforts to unwrap the small box in my lap. I had only been living here as his fiancé for about two months. How did he possibly know to get all of this stuff?

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that present you are about to open. We are under a very strict schedule today so we must get moving."

I rolled my eyes again and finished opening the present to reveal a plastic container filled with strawberry tarts. "I should have known," I said to him, nodding. "I'll eat them while I get dressed." I set them aside and got another present. This one was a picture of the two of us together at the Elevation, laughing as we walked through the gardens holding hands.

"You don't have any pictures of me on your desk yet so I chose this one; it's my favorite and I have the same one on my desk," he explained.

"Thank you," I said politely and reached for the third box which was significantly bigger than the other two. Inside this box was a white silk scarf that I had indeed wanted for a long time but my maids held out on making. I guessed that this was why. "Thanks so much!" I exclaimed, rising up to throw my arms around him.

He fell back on the bed under my weight but soon recovered and kissed me deeply. His tongue traced over my bottom lip and I groaned, wanting more of him. Our wedding day really couldn't come fast enough. He suddenly pulled away and said, "Strict schedule, remember?"

I groaned again but this time out of dissatisfaction. I got up out of the bed and walked over to my suite as Maxon told me, "I think your next three presents will be waiting for you with your maids."

Excitement got the best of me and I ran to my bathroom where a garment bag was hanging in plain view with two other boxes sitting on my vanity. I reached for one of them but Marlee slapped my hand away. "Not until we say so," she warned, taking the two boxes and whisking them out of the room.

I sighed and let Mary do my hair and makeup. She put my hair in a beautiful side braid with loose curls hanging out. Finally she moved to the garment bag and unzipped it, revealing a beautiful denim button-up dress with quarter-length sleeves. The scarf would look perfect with it. I put the dress on and Mary helped arrange my scarf in a loose knot around my neck. Finally Marlee brought back the smaller boxes. In one of them was a pair of beautiful gold dangly earrings and in the other one was a selection of gold bangles. I laughed, knowing that there was no way Maxon coordinated all of this himself. In the last few months that I'd been living with him, I quickly learned that he's lucky to match his shoes.

I joined him out in the hall where he was waiting. "So where are we going?" I asked, taking his hand loosely. I felt him run a finger over my engagement ring; this seemed to be a habit of his whenever we held hands.

"Well, we have to pace ourselves because it's only eleven o'clock and I still have to give you twelve presents. So, I thought a nice lunchtime picnic would be the perfect way to stall a little bit," he informed me as we walked outside into the gardens. He led me to our bench and I saw that he had decorated the area with my favorite flowers and had set up a blanket with a basket of food already waiting for us.

I squealed and went straight for the basket, pulling out my favorite foods and setting them on the blanket between us. "Blue crab isn't even in season right now!" I exclaimed, picking up the box of crab cakes for closer inspection.

He smirked. "Supposedly not." I nudged him in the shoulder and took a bite out of one of the crab cakes. I looked up at the sunny sky and sighed, sadness working its way into my heart. This was my first birthday without Dad. Maxon sensed the change in my mood. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. It's just that…every year on my birthday my dad would get enough money together to buy me my favorite kind of cupcake from this bakery in town. He could only ever afford one for me but I looked forward to that cupcake all year. It really wasn't even that good; it was just that it was from my dad," I confessed. I smiled at the memory. "But strawberry tarts will do just fine." I patted Maxon's knee and we ate the rest of our lunch in companionable silence.

When we were finished I laid my head in Maxon's lap and we picked out clouds and made pictures out of them. Eventually he cleared his throat. "As much as I love doing this with you, we have more presents to attend to, don't we?"

I sat up as a maid approached us carrying about six different boxes. I gasped as she put them on the blanket in front of us and started sifting through the pile. "Which should I open first?" I asked him, putting a hand over my mouth in shock.

He laughed and pulled one large box out. "This one. And do take note that I wrapped all of these."

"I knew the second I saw the first present; you're not the best wrapper." I winked and started tearing at the paper. Inside the box were two pairs of pants; a gray pinstripe dress pant and a pair of jeans, darker than the other ones he had given me. I opened my mouth to thank him but he stopped me.

"I know you said that you don't really want them anymore but I figured having another couple pairs couldn't hurt. And seeing how good you look in them…" his voice trailed off and he blushed, looking away from me.

I laughed. "Maxon Schreave, have you been checking me out?"

He blushed even more and shook his head. "Merely assessing your best assets. Anyway, next present!"

I shook my head at him as I opened the next box, revealing two of the nicest blazers I had even seen. One was plain black and the other was a gray pinstripe that matched the pants. "These are functional. What's next?" The next four presents were personalized stationary, another picture I recognized from his wall of Marlee and I on the _Report_, gold fountain pens, and a bejeweled hair clip. "Where am I going to possibly put all of these?" I asked, laughing as I neatly stacked the presents together for the maid to take away.

I looked up and saw Silvia approaching us. "Your Majesty, I apologize but we need you…"

Maxon cut her off. "Silvia, I told the advisers not to bother me today."

"Oh, um, I apologize King Maxon but I was actually talking to Lady America. There are some urgent wedding plans that just came up and must be dealt with today," she reported.

I bit my lip and looked at Maxon sadly. "Sorry. Duty calls," I sighed. He stood and offered me his hand to help me up. I brushed the back of my dress off and kissed Maxon quickly. "I'll see you later?"

"Do what you need to do and then meet me in the music room," he instructed.

"Okay," I said, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. I followed Silvia inside and upstairs to my study where Marlee was waiting with apologetic eyes. "What is it?" I asked, suddenly worried that something had gone wrong with the wedding plans.

Marlee glanced nervously at Silvia and said slowly, "Mary just talked to me about your dress…"

"And?" I prompted.

A smile slowly crept across Marlee's face. "And she said that you can try it on today for a fitting!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

I felt my eyes widen. "Really? Why do I need a fitting? I thought it is a custom dress, just like the rest of my dresses."

"Well it's still been a month since you were last measured and you have three months until the wedding. You're probably going to have one every month until then," Silvia explained, setting some papers on my desk. "We thought today would be a great day to surprise you with the dress."

"And it would give Maxon time to organize your next present," Marlee added. "So let's go!" She waved me to the door and we both went upstairs to my suite where Mary was waiting with a white garment bag.

I had not paid much thought to my dress since I sat down with Mary to actually design the dress. I just hoped Maxon would like it. Mary was bouncing with excitement when I walked in and she squealed when I reached for the bag. "My lady, here it is!" She was obviously very proud of her work. "Get undressed so you can put it on!"

I obeyed her orders and shivered as I stood in my room in just my underwear, putting my arms across my chest for some modesty. It was silly really; Mary had seen me unclothed dozens of times before. She held the skirt of the dress open to put my head through and I shimmied it down over my body, letting it settle on my hips so Marlee could do up the buttons in the back. _The buttons_, I suddenly groaned mentally. _That long row of buttons_.

Marlee patted my back as she finished and I stared at myself in the mirror. The dress was perfect and everything I had imagined. The lace that covered the bodice and made up the sleeves that hugged my upper arms to my elbows and the short turtleneck was elegant and regal. The white silk belt at my waist with jewels on the front gave the dress the right amount of flair. And the skirt was full and for the first time since I had been at the palace, I was wishing the skirt had more tulle. It was perfect. Except for one thing.

"Soooo…what do you think?" Mary asked nervously.

I bit my lip before saying, "I love it. I do. But, uh, how difficult would it be to put a zipper in the back?"

"A zipper? I thought you wanted the buttons," Marlee said, her voice confused.

"Well, I do want them but they're hard to get undone and at the end of the day…literally, at the end of the day…" my voice trailed off. I looked at Marlee desperately, praying she'd understand what with her relationship with Carter.

She was confused until her eyes widened to be saucer-size and her mouth formed an 'O.' "Wow, yeah, you're definitely right. I never even thought of that. Mary, is there any way we can keep the buttons and put in an invisible zipper?"

Mary moved around to the back of the dress and I fidgeted as she studied it. Finally she sighed and nodded slowly. "Yes. I think the zipper would need to start here," she touched a spot on my back between my shoulder blades, "and would end here then at the skirt." She moved her hand lower to where my tailbone was. "There would be about ten buttons at the neck but it would be so uncomfortable to have a zipper there. This could work."

I smiled, relief flooding me as I remembered Maxon complaining about the buttons on my dress and then effectively ruining my dress when he took it off. I released a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and ran my hands over the dress. "Do I have to take it off?" I asked as Marlee wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"Sorry," she said. "But, it is your birthday and you have a fiancé downstairs waiting for you to give you the rest of your presents. You can put the dress on again in a month once Mary has fixed the back."

I sighed and my shoulders sagged when Marlee moved around me to start undoing the buttons – which did take about two minutes. There was no way Maxon would have been able to do it himself on our wedding night.

Ten minutes later I was in my new dress again and heading downstairs to the music room. Maxon was sitting on a bench down the hall from the room, a book open in his lap but he was staring at the wall in front of him instead. "Hey," I greeted coyly when I reached him.

He started, obviously lost in his own thoughts. "Hey! Ready for your next present?"

"Of course!" I reached for his hand and he held on to it as we walked in the music room and before me I saw my whole family. They had yet to visit me in the palace and I was so happy to have this as their first-time visit. May ran up to me and threw her arms around me.

"Happy birthday Sissy!" she squeaked.

"Thanks, May!" I hugged her back and then released her so I could hug Kenna next. It was an awkward hug what with Astra squeezed between us but it felt good to hug my big sister; something I wish I could do more often. I kissed the top of Astra's head and then moved on to Mom.

"I miss your father; I wish he was here," she whispered in my ear as we swayed back and forth. I had made it my mission to get closer to her over the last month because she was the only parent I had left. It felt wrong for me to not be close to her when Maxon didn't even have that opportunity. I called her at least once a week and since our first visit I had been able to go over for dinner twice. One time it was just me though because Maxon's schedule was making it increasingly difficult for him to find the time to leave.

I nodded, tears burning in the back of my eyes. "I know, me too." When I pulled away I wipe my fingers under my eyes, making sure none of my makeup was running.

Mom walked me over to a loveseat and made me sit down next to Maxon, who casually crossed his legs and put an arm around my shoulders. I tried to focus on something other than the feel of his hip pressed against mine which became a lot easier when he dropped another present into my lap. "This is from your entire family and myself."

It was small and I had no idea what it could have been. I made a show out of guessing what it was and rattling it near my ear. Finally I opened the box and saw a key resting inside. "That's for you and Maxon whenever you want a small escape from the palace but you don't want to go far," Mom explained.

"Mom, I already have a key to your house," I reminded her.

Maxon choked back a laugh and shook his head. "This key is for the barn on the same piece of property that was renovated to be our own getaway."

I raised my eyebrows and looked away from him to Mom. "Really?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's the least we could do."

I pouted graciously and reached for the other box Maxon was holding. "How many do I have left?" I asked curiously.

"After this, two."

I raised my eyebrows, wondering where the time had gone. This present was another key with a note in the box with it.

_My dearest America,_

_ This is a very personal present and I felt it deserved some explanation._

_I only met your father once but in the brief time he visited here, I was able to talk about quite a bit with him. He shared with me that he loved your musical talent and told me that he was scared that should you become my queen you would lose your passion for everything musical. _

_This key is for the bedroom next to your study that has now been renovated to be your own personal music study. Only you have the key for it, allowing you to escape in there whenever the need arises. Inside the room there are brand new instruments and shelves full of music, including a section with your own personal compositions along with those in your family who have composed their own pieces before you. No one is allowed to enter the room without your permission (including myself) and when we do have children I will personally see to it that I watch them should you ever need to take a break for music._

_I am not only honoring one of your father's last wishes for you but also, again, giving you something I know you would never ask me for. Take this key and use it well; I too am quite captivated by your siren songs._

_ -Max_

I looked up at him with glistening eyes. "Really?" I whispered, not believing it. I knew something was going on in that room what with all of the noise and traffic of maids and contractors in the hallway by my study but I never expected this to be it.

He nodded, seeming somewhat exasperated by my reaction. "Really."

I threw my arms around him and kissed him, not caring that my family was watching. He kissed me back but he obviously remembered that we had company because he broke away after only a few seconds. We stayed in the music room for a few more hours until it was time for dinner, which was a candle light date on our balcony between the two of us.

"So…" I sighed, propping my elbows on the table in front of me after finishing the delicious meal, "two more presents."

He smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Yep, and I saved the best for last." A maid came out on the balcony with a medium-sized box and put it in front of me on the table. As I started opening it, Maxon started explaining. "Today was not the first time I had heard about the cupcake your father gave you every year; your mother actually told me about it last week. So, this is the same type of cupcake from the same bakery in Carolina."

My eyes were glued to the cupcake sitting in the box in front of me. I put a hand to my mouth and shook my head, not believing it.

"America." The way he said my name demanded me to look up at him. "I know how much your father meant to you and I know I could never fill that gap in your life but I want to care for you the way he did. Sure, you have your family, but I think he and I knew how to care for you in a way that men who love someone more than anything would. It's a different kind of love I have for you but I don't think it's any more or less than the love your father had for you. I know how difficult this day is for you; _I know._ I want to start my own traditions with you. I want to be the kind of father to my own children the way yours was to you. I love you and I never want you to doubt that."

"You always have the perfect thing to say," I sobbed, looking back down to the cupcake. I ate it, giving one half of it to Maxon. It truly was an awful cupcake but the memories attached were sweet as could be.

As the night drew to a close I had one present left and I had absolutely no idea what it was. Maxon led me back into our bedroom and stopped me in the middle of the room, taking my hands and speaking fervently. "We are young and I know that once we're married we don't want to start having kids for at least another year but I thought we could seek alternative routes to expand our family sufficiently before then."

I frowned, not having any idea what he was talking about. As he walked over to the door I had an epiphany and I knew before he back inside with a ball of white fur in his arms. The dog was small and obviously still young. It was a boy judging by the blue bow on its head.

"This is a maltese, about three months old. He's been potty-trained for the most part, we just need to keep an eye on him. I hope you don't mind that I named him; I figured you could name all of our children because that does seem like something you'd be better at than me. Say hi to your mommy Fitz," he mused to the dog, speaking in a voice I had never heard before. I soon realized that it was a very paternal voice.

I reached my arms out to the dog and Maxon placed him in them. Fitz immediately started licking my face all over and I squealed. I had always wanted a pet dog but that was a luxury Fours couldn't afford, let alone Fives.

"Do you like him?" Maxon asked nervously, petting Fitz's back.

I smiled at the dog, the warm face just inches from mine. "I love him."

We played games with Fitz for a long time, taking turns throwing a ball around our room and watching the puppy chase after it. We only had one accident while we were playing which we quickly cleaned up ourselves, Maxon asking very conspiratorial about the whole incident.

That night we snuggled into bed with Fitz snuggled between us, his small body relaxing and being claimed by sleep within seconds. "We tired someone out," I laughed, playing with the soft white hair on his ears.

Maxon smiled and looked up at me. "Was today a good birthday? It wasn't too much, was it?"

I shook my head. "It was perfect. This is going to sound snobby but I'd expect nothing less from you," I joked, running a hand up Maxon's bare stomach. He visibly shivered at the touch.

He leaned forward to kiss me passionately. I was soon breathless and had to pull away. "Hey, you're going to wake the baby," I warned him jokingly.

"I love you, America Singer," he whispered against my lips.

"I love you, Maxon Schreave."


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so sorry for the confusion caused earlier by posting the wrong chapter. This is the real chapter 7. Thanks so much to the person who pointed it out, your name is escaping me. Anyway, this chapter is skipping ahead to a few weeks before the wedding. this is just a little insight to one of America's first big shindigs she had to plan.**

* * *

_"The real power of a man is in the size of the smile of the woman sitting next to him."_

* * *

I collapsed on Maxon's bed, letting my feet dangle off the edge. "Tell me again why we didn't elope?" I asked as I stared up at the ceiling.

He laughed from the bathroom and I could just picture him shaking his head. "Because," he began, walking out and flipping the light off, "I think there would be a hundred or so of very disappointed people." He lay down on the bed next to me, leaning on his elbow.

I looked over at him. "I'm so tired," I groaned, putting a hand to my mouth to cover my yawn. Fitz jumped up on to the bed next to me and curled into my side. I stroked the soft hair on his back and looked around to find a chew toy in the bed. Maxon, reading my mind, picked one up off the floor and tossed it to me, hitting me in the face.

He came and crawled into bed next to me and lifted my head to place it in my lap. I stared up at his beautiful face, telling myself that it was just three more weeks until he really was mine. Fitz jumped over me to start licking Maxon's face all over, making him laugh and fall back on the bed. I sat up and started adding my own kisses to his shoulder where there was still a scar from when he was shot. There probably would be a scar there for the rest of his life.

"Okay, uncle, uncle!" he exclaimed, putting his hands up to cover his face. Fitz moved and started nuzzling Maxon's other shoulder. "What am I supposed to do with you two?" he asked, still laughing.

Fitz walked down to the end of the bed and curled up at our feet, signaling that it was bedtime. I crawled under the covers to join Maxon and wrapped myself up into his side. "What time do you want to wake up tomorrow morning?" he asked, setting the alarm clock on his stomach to set it.

"My maids will wake me," I said sleepily.

He set the alarm for eight – late for him – and put the clock back on his bedside table. He wrapped his arms around me and settled in for the night. He kissed my forehead and whispered good night before I succumbed to sleep.

* * *

The next morning I was the first one to get out of bed. It was so early in fact that I had to call for my maids. Lucy was even a little bleary-eyed when she arrived. Haley – my new maid – got me coffee that made my teeth hurt it was so sweet. I had been waiting and planning for this day to come for such a long time that I was giddy with anticipation. So far I had only seen rehearsals for the ceremony but I hadn't seen any of the talent displays yet. I knew that Maxon was really excited for them although he was nervous for the actual ceremony; it was his first public act as king.

Today was the Elevation. It was a huge outdoor festival held on palace grounds celebrating the promotions of all of the guards that always occurred this time of year. There was a long ceremony where Maxon gave the official word on their promotions and appointed them to their new positions within the guard. There was plenty of food and the guards got to perform for the royal family and their own families. Their families were always invited. Aside from the ceremony, Maxon and I have no responsibility during the day besides enjoying ourselves. King Clarkson actually made it a tradition, wanting to celebrate the guards' work to protect him and his family.

My maids dressed me in a plain navy blue dress with gold buttons down the front. Maxon knocked on the door, dressed in his formal military uniform. He stopped next to me, looking at my reflection in the mirror. "Good morning, my dear," he greeted, swooping in for a quick kiss on my cheek.

I rolled my eyes. "Good morning, Prince Maxon."

He paused in lifting my cup of coffee to his mouth. "Now that's just offensive," he joked. He took a sip of the coffee and coughed on it. "And that coffee is awful."

Haley entered and curtsied. "Would you like some coffee, Your Majesty?"

"No, thank you, Miss Haley. I need to give my taste buds time to recover after drinking America's." He put his hands on my shoulders, playing with the curled bottoms of my hair. "Are you ready?"

I smiled. "In a nervous way, yes. I just hope everything runs smoothly."

"Well, I am sure that it will all be perfect. Just remember to enjoy today, okay? After these first couple years of planning it you won't think anything of it. I know this was always one of my mother's favorite things to plan." He smiled at the memory and walked back to his room. I sensed he had more to say so I waited for him to come back. When he returned, he had a long, thin box in his hands. "It's tradition for the King to give these to his Queen every year for this day. My father let it slide these past few years so I always did it."

He opened the box, revealing a slew of badges and ribbons. He knelt down in front of me and pulled one of them out. "You won't get to wear all of these because you're not officially queen yet but it's only a couple. Each badge represents something different. This was always my mother's favorite," he explained, cherishing the badge in his hand. "There are eight badges, one for each caste and this is the one for Fours." He brushed the soft fabric of my dress, right over my chest, and pinned the badge there. Then he lifted another. "Typically, you just wear the badges for your original caste and Ones but I figured you would like my mother's."

I smiled at him, dumbfounded by all of this. I had never heard of this tradition. "How'd you know?"

"The same way I knew you loved me without you ever telling me," he whispered.

I noticed that he'd somehow ended up kneeling between my legs and that now, his face was just inches from mine. As if he couldn't take it anymore, he smashed his lips against mine and wrapped me in a passionate kiss. This was way more effective than coffee, not to mention better. When he pulled away, he had another badge in his hand. By the inscription, I knew it was for Fives. I briefly wondered what we would do with these once the castes were gone but I didn't dwell on it too much.

"Since that day in my room, I've pictured my life as a Five multiple times and I've somehow developed a connection with your former caste. Whether it's because you were a Five or maybe because I have simply started to cherish the people in it, but if you haven't noticed yet, I added this badge to mine, hoping to honor you and your family," he told me.

That man just never ceased to take my breath away with his words. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

He smiled and pinned the badge to my dress. He started to retrieve the Ones badge, which was noticeably bigger and gaudier than the others but I stopped him. "I'd like to wear the badge for Twos. For Celeste."

Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded. "Of course." He pinned that one to my dress and then followed it with the Ones badge. I looked down at the collection of badges. Half of the castes were represented here but I hoped that sooner rather than later, I could represent all of them in my actions.

* * *

I was attending to some last minute matters before heading down to the party when there was a knock on the door to my study. "Come in," I said, looking at the door because despite most of the palace guards partying in the gardens, my personal guards as well as Maxon's were still on duty.

Lucy stepped through the door, surprising me. "My lady," she said reverently, curtsying.

"Lucy, what's up?" I asked, setting my pen down.

"Well, my lady, Aspen and I would like to thank you and King Maxon from the bottom of our hearts for his promotion," she prompted. "It really is rather kind, especially after the mess he's caused with you two."

I waved her off. "Maxon and I are engaged now and happy; it's water under the bridge."

She nodded, taking in my words. "Yes, and he and I are very happy as well. He just told me the other day that he will be proposing soon." She blushed. "I caught him talking to my dad about it a few days ago. Anyway, with my impending union to him, he said he could take care of the both of us comfortable, especially with this promotion and the bigger pay check."

_Bigger pay check? _I thought. I didn't remember that. I'd have to ask Maxon about it at some point. "Go on," I encouraged her.

"I would like to ask your permission to step down from my position here as a maid so I can be home and take care of Aspen until he is completely healed as well as eventually start a family."

I considered it. Lucy was so special to me. I trusted her with my life and she had been with me from the start. How was I supposed to let her go? But at the same time I knew that it was right to let her go. Aspen needed her more than I did at that point and she was living in fear in the palace. I had to give her some peace of mind and spirit. I slowly nodded, a smile spreading across my face. "I think we can arrange something," I told her slowly.

She smiled and laughed in relief, clapping her hands. "Thank you so much, my lady!" She ran around my desk to hug me. "I'm going to miss taking care of you though."

"We'll keep in touch," I assured her. "Besides, Aspen's job is going to keep him here at the palace so we can still see each other."

She nodded. "Yes, he's getting a house just outside the city!"

_A house? Oh my Maxon, what have you done?_ "That's great Lucy! Now, if you excuse me, I need to go take care of some things with Maxon and then we need to get down to the party. Do you know when your last day will be?" She shook her head. "Okay, just let me know as soon as possible."

I left her in my study and I felt sad leaving her in there. I knew I made the right decision granting her wish to leave but it still hurt to let my friend go. Maxon knew from the look on my face when I walked in his office that something was wrong. "Are you okay?" he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders and keeping his eyes trained on mine.

I shook my head. "Lucy asked to leave her position so she could take care of Aspen in their _new house_ with his _bigger salary_. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and staring him down.

He groaned and tilted his head back. "I wanted to surprise you."

"What?"

"I promoted Aspen to head of security for the royal family. It's a job he doesn't need to be able to run or anything but you'll still get to see him and Lucy," he explained. "Carter will be working with him as his partner."

My eyes widened. "Really? Are you allowed to do that?"

He laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the bookshelves in the room. "I'm king; I can do anything I want. Soon you'll have that power too." His face sobered and he lifted his hand to cup my cheek. "I told you that you can do wonderful things in this job."

I nodded. "I know but all those weeks I was worried about what Aspen was going to do once Dr. Ashlar released him from physical therapy…"

"He was actually being groomed for this position," Maxon finished for me. "I know he's important to you and with the year we've had, I didn't want you to have to say goodbye to another person."

"You're too good for me," I moaned, pressing my head against his chest.

He laughed again and the sound filled me with warmth. "How many times do I have to tell you that I wouldn't be who I am today without you? You've changed me America."

I put a finger to his lips. "Save the rest for our wedding vows," I joked.

He kissed my forehead tenderly and he sighed, lifting a stack of papers from his desk. "These are for you to sign, my dear."

I rolled my eyes at the endearment but didn't turn it down. I could never tell him how much it had actually grown on me. I leaned over Maxon's desk and picked up his pen and signed all of the papers where I needed to sign them. I handed them back to Maxon with an exuberant smile.

"Do you know what you just signed?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No," I sighed, scared he was going to use this as a queen lesson about how I shouldn't sign things I haven't read first because it could be an order to blow up the palace and I wouldn't even know.

"You just created a school for kids interested in pursuing professional sports careers, open to all castes," he informed me.

"Wait, what?"

He smiled and clipped the papers together, tucking them into a filing cabinet behind his desk. "While I was promoting Aspen and working to abolish the castes, I also was getting to work on your idea of this school where kids could learn but also focus on their athletics."

I remembered telling him about my idea, thinking that for kids like Gerad a school where education and sports were balanced equally would be ideal. I never thought I'd see it come to fruition. "Gerad will be so happy!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, and I am putting you in charge of overseeing all of the construction and organization of the school," he told me, his face alight with pride. I practically tackled him with the force of my hug. He happily wrapped his arms around me and kissed my hair before pulling away and taking my hand. "Okay, okay, enough of this. We do have responsibilities for today." He walked over to the safe sitting on his book shelf – made out of the same stuff as the safe room doors so it was pretty impossible to break into – and unlocked it, pulling out his crown and settling it on his head as easily as if it was a ball cap.

* * *

The people sitting in the wooden bleachers in the gardens applauded as Maxon and I mounted the steps leading to the scaffold stage. I tried to ignore the thousands of people watching me and focused on the small touches Maxon snuck into our actions – a hand on my elbow, his fingers brushing my back as he ushered me forward, brushing his arm against mine as we stood next to each other waving. We technically weren't allowed to hold hands in a public setting outside of the palace. Silvia was enforcing a strict 12-inch rule between Maxon and me.

As Maxon waved his hands to get the crowd to quiet down, the guards stood tall from their bows in front of us. We had about two-hundred guards in front of us to promote; it would be a long ceremony. First were the soldiers being promoted to palace guards. Next were the guards being promoted to leadership positions at the palace. Aspen was the last one as his position was definitely the most important.

He knelt with difficulty but he held his head high with pride anyway. I could see Lucy in the crowd, looking beautiful in a dress she probably made herself and her hair long and curly. Aspen practically beamed as Maxon addressed him by his new title and my heart swelled as my fiancé helped him to his feet. Maxon patted Aspen on the shoulder and then stood tall as Aspen slowly hobbled off the stage.

Maxon delivered a short speech and then the festivities truly began. Some guards were doing staged sword fights, others were doing lessons for little kids. I had ordered hundreds of plastic swords for the kids to play with. On a stage in a different section of the gardens, guards were performing special talents.

Maxon and I got to our seats as a guard was finishing his demonstration with fire. He tossed batons with flames on both ends into the air, catching them and twirling them around his body effortlessly. "That's a talent common for young men in Bonita," Maxon informed me, leaning close to me. Our arms brushed each other and I wondered if I would ever get used to not getting to touch him in public. Would I always want to rip his clothes off with the smallest touch?

Next was a pair of guards performing a comedy act. Maxon and I were trying our best to be reserved but it was so hard; they were hilarious. I snuck glances over at Maxon and was so relieved to see him enjoying himself. I was spending a lot of time worrying about him being happy and relaxed lately what with all of his new responsibilities and just still dealing with the loss of his parents. I knew there were still days where I missed my dad so much the grief practically confined me to my bed; I knew Maxon was not having it any better.

The next group of about ten guards performed a step dance, leaving me speechless as I watched them complete the complicated choreography. "They need to teach me how to dance!" I laughed, looking at Maxon who smiled at me sympathetically.

"You'll be a good dancer in no time," he assured me, lifting my hand to his lips to deliver a chaste kiss.

I shook my head. "There's no hope!"

"C'mon, you'll always be dancing with me. How will you not be superb?" But I could see the twitch in his temple that was always the telltale sign of him fighting back laughter. I reached over to adjust his crown which was just barely lopsided.

I looked back to the dancers just as they were finishing their performances. They bowed and exited the stage and the show took an intermission which was our signal to leave. It was inappropriate for Maxon and I to mingle with our staff to such an extent and we wanted everyone to relax without having to watch their manners in front of us.

We retired to our balcony where we could still watch the festivities but nobody could see us. I curled up on a chaise lounge with Fitz as Maxon sat on the ground next to my chair, leaning against it with a stack of papers in his lap and our dinners sitting next to him. I was trying my best to distract Fitz from the food so he wouldn't eat it all. I ran my hand through Maxon's hair, amazed at how soft it was. "You need a haircut, sir," I told him, playing with the hair that was hanging over his neck.

"I know," he sighed, "I'm waiting until closer to the wedding." He held a strawberry up to me and I bit it out of his hand. Fitz started climbing up my leg, begging for a piece. I took one bite and then let Fitz eat the rest around the little leaves. Once he was content leaped up to join me on the chaise.

"Just not too short, okay?"

He turned and looked at me with a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean? I've always had it cut short."

I smiled reassuringly at him. "I like it a little longer."

He nodded as if the answer should have been obvious. "Carter warned me that soon enough all of my decisions would be made by my wife," he joked.

"Luckily you have a pretty brilliant soon-to-be-wife," I whispered, putting my face close to his and kissing the corner of his mouth. He turned so he could kiss me and we would have kept kissing all night if Fitz didn't decide to get down from the chaise and pee on the balcony a few feet from us. We both pulled away and laughed at him sitting next to the small puddle with guilty eyes. "Well at least the food was spared!" I pointed out.

Maxon smiled and then looked back at me. "He's just jealous. He'll have to learn to wait his turn."

I laughed out loud as Maxon walked inside to retrieve a towel to clean up the mess. He removed his sock before stomping the towel into the puddle and pulling it away with a mildly disgusted look on his face. "You're changing diapers," he said simply as he walked back inside to get rid of the soiled towel.

I shook my head as he walked back outside. "I don't think so. I'm already the primary food source. Unless you want to breastfeed?" I offered sarcastically.

He nodded. "Of course." I stood up to meet him and looked into his beautiful face. The way the light hit him from our bedroom made him look just like the night he first kissed me on my balcony. At the same time though, he seemed almost older. I didn't know how someone could age so quickly in such a short amount of time but seeing the emotional turmoil we had gone through, I supposed we both seemed older than we were.

I swiped a hand across his forehead and he seemed to read my mind because he bent down to kiss me. I would never get tired of kissing Maxon and with the way he kissed me, I was pretty sure he felt the same way. I could feel every emotion whenever he just barely touched me. His kisses were just an outpouring of emotion. I was only able to imagine what it would be like to do more with him than kiss. He always somehow made me feel beautiful. I didn't have low self-esteem per say but I always felt inferior to other women until he looked at me with that look that said I was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It also helped that he reminded me of it daily.

"Do I hear fireworks?" Maxon asked, pulling away just enough to ask me.

I laughed at his wonder and put a hand to his face to push it in the right direction. "You sure do."

He turned back to face me. "You're amazing."

I shrugged, acting nonchalant even though the compliment really touched me. "I try."

"No, really. Today had the makings of being a disaster but your hard work ensured that it went seamlessly. Not that I ever doubted you, but I heard the advisers talking and they really questioned your competence with having to plan it without Mom."

"It wasn't easy but I have some pretty great people supporting me. There's this one guy who believes in me so much. Sometimes it's downright annoying with how supportive he is."

He nodded. "Annoying, huh?"

I quickly shook my head. "I wasn't talking about you; I was talking about Carter."

"Yeah, right." His hands settled on my waist and he hoisted my over his shoulder effortlessly. "Like I'd ever believe that." He threw me down on the bed and covered my body with his, stroking a hand down the side of my face. "While we're at it, I should probably tell you about the maid I've been seeing."

"Uh huh, like I'd ever believe that," I said, throwing his words back at him. "Now kiss me, you fool."

"Gladly."

**and I just had to finish it with some maxerica smut! hopefully i'll update again before the end of the week; I'm going on another mission trip next week from the 5-12. if I do update, it may be out of order. it kills me to do it but I have more of the chapter that is two from now than the next one, if that makes any sense. anyway, hope you enjoyed it!**


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